Desert Island
by Layla James
Summary: 1 ship, 1 shipwreck, 1 uncharted desert island, 6 friends, 3 unwelcome additions, and 2 affectionate family members. How will they all cope? Can they survive? And surely, this is the last place on Earth that true love could blossom? Please R&R! AH. Canon.
1. Preface

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, not me.**

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Preface

If you'd have asked me, before all this ha happened, if I thought I'd find the love of my life and five of the best friends in the world, I would have told you no way. I'd never had many friends; I just found it hard to connect to people, and it didn't help that I wasn't interested in celebrities and fashion, so there was never common grounds for superficial conversation to start to begin to form a friendship. And I hadn't really dated in the past; the boys just looked straight through me. I did have one admirer: my cousin Jacob, but I considered him to be my younger brother; my best friend.

But then, I never expected to go on the adventure of a lifetime, and do things I never even dreamed I'd do. All I expected was to spend a normal vacation on a cruise ship for teenagers, out of the way of my parents during their divorce, with Jake at my side, so we could spend the summer together.

I guess it was a summer of surprises for all of us...

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**Here it is! The first chapter (sort of)! Please Review!**

**Layla x**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything, I am just borrowing her characters for a bit!**

Chapter 1 – All Aboard

BPOV

"Dad, seriously, you didn't have to drive us all the way to the airport; I was perfectly happy to get a taxi. It's just such a long way for you to drive."

"A taxi would have cost you an arm and a leg. It's more practical this way and cheaper. Besides, can't I accompany my little girl to the airport before she sets off on a lifetime adventure?" Charlie replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Dad, it's hardly a lifetime adventure. It's a cruise for young adults, so their parents can have a break."

"Yeah, Uncle Charlie; it's not like she's going to be fighting sharks or living off only coconuts," Jake piped up, from the back of the cruiser.

I looked out of the window as awkwardness settled through the police cruiser. I couldn't help it, but every time Jake showed that he liked me a little more than just brotherly love, I got very embarrassed. I knew it wasn't his fault, and that you can't help who you crush on, but still.

After a few minutes, we pulled into Seattle airport, to board the plane that would take us to Florida, where the cruise would set off the next day. We queued for check-in, and just before we went through security, we had to say goodbye to Charlie. This was a lot harder than I expected.

"Bye Bells," he said, hugging me awkwardly, not one for showing emotions.

"Bye Dad, I'll miss you." I said, squeezing him tightly, feeling my eyes prick with tears unexpectedly.

"Yeah, me too." He said gruffly, as he pulled away and turned to Jacob.

"You'll look after my girl, won't you, son?"

"Of course I will Uncle Charlie," Jake said, giving him a mock salute. I rolled my eyes; he was such a joker, and he could never take anything seriously.

"Bye Dad, I love you." I said.

"You too." He replied.

"Could you give my love to Mom?" I asked cautiously, "And tell her that I'll miss her?"

His eyes softened, as he saw my apprehension, "I think I can do that without causing an argument," he said, and hugged me once again before we proceeded through security.

I was upset at leaving both my parents, although I knew that I would see them again before I knew it. It was just that, right then, two months seemed like a long time to be without them.

But then, we were through security, and I was immersed in the world that was duty-free. I checked the board, but our gate number wasn't up yet. However I didn't really feel like shopping; in all honesty, I never did.

"Hey, Jake, why don't we get a drink or something at Starbuck's? I can't be bothered to go shopping."

"Sure!" he said, happy that he wasn't going to be subjected to what he considered torture.

Once we'd got our drinks we went and sat in some chairs that were close to the boards so that we could see when the gate came up. We chatted idly about what we were expecting about the trip, and what we were looking forward to. Next we played a game of 'Who are they?', where we had to make up the lives of different people as they walked passed. It could be as outrageous as we liked, and it was our special game that passed time amazingly.

However, by the time we'd finished the coffees, the gate still hadn't come up; I decided that I could use a magazine to stave off boredom on the flight, despite having my favourite book, _Wuthering Heights _in my hand-luggage. I browsed through the selection on offer, before eventually deciding on _Heat_. It was large and, if I read it from cover to cover, could last me for at least half an hour. At the check-out I grabbed a chocolate bar, and a packet of chewing gum for take-off and landing. I hated the feeling I got in my ears, and I found that chewing gum helped ease that.

I checked the boards again, and finally our gate number had made an appearance, and as we'd already agreed, I headed straight there.

I met Jake by the gate, as we'd agreed, and together we got on the plane. The flight was pretty dull, and _Heat _didn't last as long as I would have liked. However, I managed to immerse myself fully in _Wuthering Heights _and fortunately, it made the time pass quicker. Five and a half hours later, we touched down, and once we were through passport control; I hailed a taxi, after several attempts, and we took it to Florida docks where the S.S. Hale was waiting for us.

"I swear, it's harder to get a cab here than in New York!" I said to Jake, as we got into it.

"No, Bella that was just a fail, and an epic one at that. And don't swear, what would your father say?" he joked

I rolled my eyes, "Ha ha, very funny Jacob Black. What would your father say about the porn in your hand luggage?"

That wiped the smile off his face. He gaped at me, "How do you know about that?"

"Magic," I said, nonchalantly, gazing out of the window, like it was no big deal.

"Seriously,"

"I saw it in your rucksack when you were getting the money out for the coffee. Come on Jake, you have to be a bit more subtle than that. Anyway, I didn't know they sold it to underage."

"What's underage got anything to do with it? Porn's got nothing to do with drinking." He said, confused.

"Underage for sex, dumbass! You're only fifteen! I'm surprised they sell to people who are too young for sex!"

"Sorry," he said, insolently, "And for your information, I look old for my age. They didn't even ask for I.D." He sounded very smug. I rolled my eyes, and gazed out of the window.

"You won't tell anyone though, will you?" he asked worriedly, "Like Uncle Charlie or something?"

I scoffed, "Yeah, because that would be a good phone call home. 'Hi, Dad, yeah, I'm fine, flight was good, yeah, I miss you, and Mom. Oh, by the way, Jake has been illegally buying porn, just so you know. Bye, love you.' Yeah, that sounds normal. Of course I won't tell anyone Jake, don't worry. I just don't like it, that's all."

"Why not? What's it to you?" he grinned, suddenly, as if he thought he had a shot. As if he thought I was jealous or something.

"Jake," I sighed, "You're practically my little brother. We grew up together, remember. I wouldn't like my brother to be into porn!"

His face dropped slightly, but he soon perked up.

"Yeah, keep on believing that!"

"My God, you're insufferable!" I burst out. Jake just smirked, which annoyed me even more. I stared out of the window until we got to the docks, and the cabbie dropped us off.

"So, this is it, huh?" I said, anger replace by awe as we stared at the huge ship in front of us, the words S.S. Hale embossed on the side.

"I guess," Jake replied, looking as amazed as I did, "Come on, let's go! I want to look inside now!" He dashed off, to the gangplank, and I smiled at his enthusiasm as I followed him. I was pretty excited myself; it looked like this was actually going to be the holiday of a lifetime.

"Come on Bella! Hurry up; you've got the registration details!"

"Oh, yeah," I rummaged in my purse, and pulled out the, slightly crumpled, papers, to hand over to the concierge type person who was waiting just inside. He smiled and welcomed us in.

"There's a temporary reception desk set up on the main deck. That will tell you where your cabin is and give you all the information you need." He explained, and then gave us directions there. I let Jake lead the way, as I could get lost on a one way street. I'd once got lost and nearly ran into trouble once in Port Angeles, the local shopping area for my hometown of Forks, but luckily Jake had saved me. Apparently my lacking the Y chromosome meant that I had absolutely no sense of direction.

At the reception desk we were given our cabin keys, and told by the friendly woman who we'd be sharing with, and mealtimes et cetera.

"Isabella, you will be with Alice Cullen, and Jacob, you are with Seth Clearwater. If there are any problems with that, you may come and see me. However, I'm not promising I can sort it out."

"Thanks," I smiled, as I took my room key, and Jake took his. As we were a couple of decks down we took the elevator, as it was easier to take our luggage that way than lugging it down flights of stairs.

When we stepped out of the elevator, it seemed that the male and female rooms were divided exactly from that point, so I said goodbye to Jacob, and wandered along the corridor, uncomfortably reminding myself of that scene in Titanic when Rose and Jack had to fight the rising water.

_Your being silly, Bella, _I told myself, and shook the feeling off, just as I got to room forty-seven, my room. I entered the key, and stepped into the room, dragging my suitcase behind me.

I heard a loud squeal, and something attacked me.

"Hi! I'm Alice; you must be my roommate Isabella! I'm so excited to see you; I just know that we are going to be best friends in no time at all!" she stepped back at looked at me with eagerness in her eyes. But then her face fell.

"What?" I asked, self-consciously.

"Honestly, is that what you're wearing? I mean seriously? And where is the rest of your luggage?"

"This is it," I said, slightly confused, "And," I added, "There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing; its comfortable and practical."

"And, no offence, hideous! You need some serious re-dressing. We need to go shopping, now!" and she grabbed me by the arm, and started to drag me out of the room, regardless of my protests that I really wanted to unpack. Although, in all honesty, I wasn't sure that I would find anywhere to put my clothes as Alice seemed to have taken up the entire closet, and then some.

But all of a sudden I was saved by a very angry voice thundering down the corridor.

"Mary Alice Cullen!"

"Yes?" she said innocently, as a huge bear of a guy came charging down towards our room, brandishing several pairs of panties in one hand.

"What are these?" he yelled, waving them in her face.

"Those would be my panties, Emmett, thanks for bringing them to me. I was just about to come and get them," she replied calmly, taking them off him, and casually throwing them into our cabin, where they all landed on what I presumed was her bed. I sighed slightly; of course she would be that coordinated.

"And what were they doing in **my **suitcase?" Emmett asked menacingly.

"Isn't it obvious? They wouldn't fit in any of mine, and I knew that you wouldn't fill yours. Duh!"

"Alice!" came another annoyed, yet slightly amused voice from down the corridor and, I swear, Adonis himself followed it. He was tall, though not as tall as Emmett, with tousled bronze hair and vibrant green eyes that I could very easily have got lost in. It was lust at first sight.

"Yes, brother, dearest!" she replied, in her trilling voice.

"I believe these are yours," he said, a crooked smirk on his face. I may have melted at that smile.

"Yes, thank you Edward, those are my bras. You're too kind!" I had to laugh as she took the bras from Edward's outstretched hand, and just as casually as before, slung them all into our room.

"Honestly Alice, is five suitcases not enough for you?" he asked, still sounding amused.

"As it happens, no. I need an outfit for every occasion, as you just don't know what is going to happen on a cruise!"

"I would imagine, not much." Edward said, matter-of-factly.

"That's what you know!" she snapped, firing up, "Come on Isabella, we're going shopping!" and she grabbed my arm again and proceeded down the corridor.

"Er, Alice?" Edward called.

"What?" she barked, not stopping.

"Aren't you being a bit rude? You haven't introduced your roommate to us yet."

"Boys meet Isabella. Isabella, meet my two idiot brothers Emmett and Edward. Right done, now can we go?"

"Actually," I corrected, "It's just Bella. Sorry Alice. And actually, I don't think there's a mall on this ship," I added apologetically.

"What!" her shriek nearly perforated my eardrum, and I clapped my hands to my ears, cringing away from her. Of course, this meant that I lost my balance, and nearly fell over, but a pair of strong arms caught me before I hit the floor.

"Thanks," I gasped, gazing into the eyes of my saviour, which just so happened to be bright green.

"Not at all," he smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Bella. My name is Edward," He grinned, and leant down slightly to whisper in my ear, "Are you sure about that; I'm not sure Alice will survive?"

"No," I whispered back, "I think there is one, but I don't really like shopping, and I'd rather eat snails than go now." Edward flashed a crooked grin at me before I was whirled away by the giant that was Emmett.

"Bella!" he boomed, right in my ear, not helping the near-perforation, "Great to meet my new little sister!"

"Er, can't breathe!" I gasped as he enveloped me in a huge bear hug.

"Oops, sorry!"

"Thanks," I wheezed, massaging life back into my ribs, "Wait, sister?"

"Don't worry about it," Alice said, still looking shocked and more than slightly annoyed at the 'lack' of mall on the ship, and "He says that to every girl we meet, except if he fancies her."

"Oh, thanks!" I said, sarcastically, "That makes me feel great!"

"Oh, no! Bella, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, um, you're very pretty, um not that I'd notice. Except I did, but, oh my god –"

"Emmett!" I said loudly, over his babbling, "Shut up!"

He fell silent, looking cowed Seeing such an enormous guy looking slightly scared of me was incredibly funny. Before I could help myself, I burst out laughing. Alice and Edward started laughing too, and if I wasn't in such hysterics, I would have been distracted by Edward's velvety laugh. Was there anything about him that wasn't beautiful?

"What?" Emmett asked in confusion, "What did I do?"

I shook my head, unable to form words through my gasps.

"Fine," he said grumpily, "I'll leave you to calm down. If I'm clearly such a source of amusement to you, it will be better for me to leave." And with that, he stalked off.

"Oh dear," Edward chuckled, "I think I'd better go and explain."

He ran down the corridor after Emmett's rapidly disappearing figure.

"I say they'll be back in about ten minutes. But we can go and head them off at the elevators. I've decided I don't believe you! They have to have a mall on this ship! And we're going to find it!"

"Fine, but I'm finishing unpacking first, if you've left me any space!" I grinned at Alice, and she smiled back.

"I'm sure we can find you a cubby hole, of a porthole. Oh, and by the way, I haven't forgiven you for lying to me about the mall; I will get you back at some point!"

"Oh, yeah?" I smiled, calling her bluff. Unfortunately, she seemed to mean it, as she gave me a smile that was positively evil, and I immediately regretted it. However, somehow, I didn't think it would be that bad, or that she was truly mean. For some reason I had immediately connected with this family, and I couldn't wait to spend more time with them.

With this thought on my mind I followed Alice into the cabin, with a smile on my face, and the feeling that this was going to be a good summer.

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**AN: Well there you have it; the first chapter! Please tell me what you think! Layla x**

**Cowed: intimidated/browbeaten**

**Cabbie: taxi-driver (is this an English word? Sorry if it is XD)**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Ok, I know it has been over a week, but it's still a record for me!**

**Disclaimer: I am only borrowing these lovely and very fit (boys only) characters from Stephenie Meyer. She owns them, not me**

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_Previously..._

_..."Oh, yeah?" I smiled, calling her bluff. Unfortunately, she seemed to mean it, as she gave me a smile that was positively evil, and I immediately regretted it. However, somehow, I didn't think it would be that bad, or that she was truly mean. For some reason I had immediately connected with this family, and I couldn't wait to spend more time with them._

_With this thought on my mind I followed Alice into the cabin, with a smile on my face, and the feeling that this was going to be a good summer._

Chapter 2 – New Friends

"Seriously Alice, are you psychic or something?" I asked in shock, as we rounded the corner to the elevators at exactly the same time as Emmett and Edward.

"Yes," she said, smugly. Emmett whooped when he caught sight of us, and charged down the short expanse of corridor that separated us to envelope Alice in a massive hug.

"Emmett, get off, or I will give you a make-over!" she threatened menacingly.

Emmett immediately dropped her and backed off. "Sorry, I was only excited to see you!"

"And why would that be?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you're my sister!" he beamed at her.

She looked him up and down appraisingly, "You're up to something," she decided, "And I will find out why. Trust me."

"You're very confident about that," Edward said, cockily.

"Of course I am; I'm always right!" she bluffed right back.

"Ok, guys, cool it! Jesus, you can tell I'm the oldest here!" Emmett pronounced. We all looked at each other for a split second, then burst out laughing. Luckily Emmett saw the amusement this time, and chuckled along with us.

"Anyway," Edward said, sobering up slightly, "Where's Nessie?"

"I dunno," Alice replied, shrugging, "She wasn't in her room when we passed."

"Is that why we knocked on some random person's door on the way here?" I asked, "And who is Nessie?"

"Our little sister. She's fifteen."

"There's another one of you, jeez!" I said, in surprise.

"Yeah," Alice said, looking at me strangely, "Four isn't that big a family you know. And, anyway, Nessie was a surprise. Mom and Dad were finished with me and Edward, or so they thought!"

"Sorry," I apologised, "It just seems big to me. It's only ever been just me; I'm an only child." There was an awkward silence, while everyone stared at me, with something like pity on their face which I really didn't want. It just made me blush.

"So, fifteen, huh? That's the same as my cousin Jacob. Maybe they'll, you know." I waggled my eyebrows suggestively, and all three of them cringed.

"Ew! No, just, no Bella! How could you even think that?" cried Alice, "He's your cousin too!"

"I know," I said nonchalantly, stepping into the lift, as it finally arrived, "That's why I can."

They all shook their heads at me, and grimaced again at the thought of their little sister, clearly the baby of the family having any sort of relationship that wasn't a platonic friendship, and I smiled to myself as the lift moved upwards at having successfully distracted the attention from myself.

We soon made it to the main deck, where the boys immediately started checking the map, closely followed by Alice.

"Hah!" she cried triumphantly, "I knew you were lying, Bella Swan! There is a mall here, and wow; it's really big!"

"Damn!" I said, overdramatically, "Foiled by your superior brain-power! What on Earth am I going to do now?"

"You can come shopping with me now, as your punishment." She said matter-of factly.

"Aww," Emmett whined, "But I want to explore the rest of the ship!"

"Me too, Alice!" I added, copying his whinge, "But I promise I'll go later, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated at how Emmett and I were already working as a team to get out of things we didn't want to do.

"Can't you explore the ship without Bella?" she asked, as though she were speaking to a three year old. From what I already knew, she probably wasn't far off.

"No," he pouted, and I practised my puppy-eyed look at the same time, as it always seemed to work for Jacob when he wanted me to do something incredibly dangerous, like cliff-diving or something.

"Fine!" she sighed, rolling her eyes again, and Emmett and I gave each other a celebratory high-five.

"But Bella, we will be going shopping later. That's a promise!" she added warningly.

"Great, can't wait." I muttered.

"I heard that!" she shot over her shoulder, walking away towards the open air part of the deck, where the pool, and apparently the wave machine were.

Edward opened the door, and held it all open for us. I was the last through.

"Why, thank you, kind sir," I said, curtseying to him.

"My pleasure milady," he replied with a small bow and a crooked grin.

But before I could get lost in his eyes, or melt at his smile, we heard a shout from Emmett.

"I wanna go!"

"Oh, dear, what has he seen now?" Edward murmured under his breath, while moving forward to see what Emmett was so excited about. I followed, taking stock of the large, open plan area.

There was a large swimming pool as the centrepiece of the room, with a large number of sun loungers dotted around the outside. In the pool were various inflatables that appeared to belong to nobody, as there was no one in the pool or sitting on any of the sun loungers, a diving board at one end, and a slide at the other, with multiple twists and loops. At the far end of the room was the fabled and heavily advertised wave machine, which seemed to be the object of Emmett's excitement and to the side of the room was a bar, with a few benches and tables scattered nearby that sold only non-alcoholic drinks, mainly smoothies, from what I could see.

"That's weird," Edward said.

"What, Emmett's behaviour?" I asked, watching Alice unsuccessfully try to calm him down, and assure him that he would get go on it at some point, just not at that moment.

He grimaced, "No; that's very normal. I was just wondering where everyone else is. Shouldn't this place be full of people who arrived here earlier, like yesterday or something?"

"Oh, yeah, that is weird. Even the staff don't appear to be here." Suddenly inspiration stuck me. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Five to twelve. Why?"

"The ship sets sail at twelve. In our brochure-manual thing, it told us to be at the reception area by quarter to twelve for final registration, to check everyone was onboard, and the main welcome."

"That means, we're over ten minutes late!" Edward swore, then grabbed Emmett and yelled, "Come on, we have to get to the other side of the ship!"

"For when?" asked Emmett.

"Ten minutes ago," I replied, heading for the door.

Emmett repeated Edward's cuss, and bolted for the door, sweeping me and Alice along with him. I nearly tripped, but managed to stay on my feet. We raced to the place we'd been greeted, making it with two minutes to spare before twelve, and panted our names back out to the lady who'd been there before, and now didn't seem quite so friendly as before.

"Well, at least you're here now." She sighed.

"We're so sorry," I gasped, still struggling to regain my breath, painful stitch in my side. I was useless at sports, and therefore tried to avoid them, but it had detrimental effects on my fitness.

"Hmm," she frowned, but ticked us off on her list. "Next time, try to be on time please. We were about to send out a search party for you. We can't leave without all of our guests."

We all tried our best to look guilty, shame-faced; anything to show that we were sorry for the delay we'd very nearly caused.

As the lady, who introduced herself as Irina, gave the official welcome and demonstrated the correct way to put a lifebelt on, I glanced around the room, taking stock of the people with whom I'd be spending the rest of the summer. I immediately spotted a gorgeous girl giving Edward adoring looks, and, irrationally, I hated her on sight. She had short strawberry blond hair, and unusual golden eyes. She was standing next to a boy with spiky blond hair, and pale blue eyes, and a girl with wildly curly hair, tan like a cheerleader. They seemed to be a couple, although the boy was giving me looks similar to those the strawberry blond was giving Edward, which I thought was strange.

To the side of the group, clearly apart from the rest were two beautiful people. They were both blond, and tall, and the girl had a haughty look about her, but they both oozed of wealth, although that didn't seem to have helped them settle in, as they were also, very clearly, outsiders. I don't know if it was because I'd always had the same feeling of not belonging, or something, but I was strangely attracted to them. I wanted to talk to them. However, I quickly dismissed that urge. For a start, I had to act like I was paying attention to the talk, as I was already in trouble.

Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw Emmett's mouth drop open. I turned to look at him inquisitively, but he was oblivious to me, his attention fixed on something else. I followed his line of sight, and saw that it was the girl. I guessed then that he wouldn't be referring to her as his sister at any point. I caught sight of Edward smirking at Emmett, which caused me to grin myself; this would mean some fun for us.

The ship's foghorn let out a deafening 'Paaaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp' and all of a sudden the ship itself starting moving. I lost my already precarious balance, and very nearly fell over, but managing to right myself, for once. Edward was no longer smirking at Emmett, but looking at me in concern. I gave him a dismissive gesture, as if to say this sort of thing happens all the time and realising that I would probably do well to actually pay attention to what Heidi –who had just introduced herself - was saying, started to listen. At the same time, I wondered if it had been a good idea to put myself on a boat for two months, as it rocked and rolled across the ocean.

Finally, Heidi finished going through the, what seemed like endless, safety brief, and let us all go, we immediately headed down to our cabins, to change, as we wanted to hang out at the swimming pool. While we were waiting for the elevators to take us down, Jacob caught up with us.

"Bella, where were you?"

"I got lost," I lied, slightly hesitantly, but it was something I would do, so Jake didn't appear to notice.

"Whatever," he said, "Anyway, I have something to tell you!" he sounded really excited about it.

"Go on then," I replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, my god, I've just seen a really amazing girl, she's absolutely gorgeous and I think she might be the one! She's certainly helped me get over, you know, that thing with you, and that's only on sight! She's got the most amazing red hair, that's in ringlets down to her waist. And she has gorgeous green eyes, that really sparkle, but she's quite short; almost as short as you, and she also has a couple of freckles on her nose –"

"Excuse me," said a lilting voice, "You weren't talking about me by any chance?"

A young girl, who looked just as Jake described and almost exactly like Edward, was standing there, smiling slightly at the colour of Jacob's face, which was puce at this point.

"N-no," he stuttered, "I-I was just talking about another girl –"

"Don't worry," she interrupted him, "I think you're pretty cute too." All of a sudden Jake's face lit up, and all traces of red vanished from his face.

"Ahem," Edward cleared his throat, "Do I know you?" he sounded rather menacing, and threatening.

"Edward, this is my cousin Jacob. We're also best friends, have been since childhood. Jake, this is Edward, Alice and Emmett," I pointed them out separately, "Their all brothers and sisters, and Alice is my roommate."

"And this is our sister, Nessie." Alice added with a small smile, standing on Edward's foot at the same time. I winced in sympathy; she was wearing very high heels.

"Nice to meet you," Jake smiled at Nessie.

"Yeah, you too," she grinned.

"Hey look!" Emmett burst out, "It's her!"

"Who?" Alice asked, looking around.

"It's that girl you like, isn't it Emmett?" Edward asked with a grin.

"Yeah, the one you were ogling during the safety brief," I added, smirking at him.

"Yes," Emmett said, lifting his head up proudly, and thus taking the wind out of our sails, "Yes, I like her and I want to know who she is. I want to talk to her."

"Oh my gosh!" Alice gasped, "I know who she is. And the incredibly hot guy next to her! They are the Hales! Their parents own this ship!"

"No wonder they look a bit haughty," I commented, "It must be hard trying to fit in when your Dad owns everything here already."

"Exactly. They probably only need to snap their fingers and they will have a hoard of people clamouring to help them." Nessie added.

"Ugh!" Alice shuddered, "I'd hate that!"

"Me too," I agreed fervently. Anything to do with having the limelight thoroughly repulsed me. I shied away from attention. I'd always preferred being the person in the background.

"So, how old do you reckon they are?" Emmett asked, getting bored with what we are talking about.

"Dunno, though they're probably not that old. I reckon they must be about our age." I shrugged; I wasn't that fussed about it.

"Why don't you go and ask?" Edward suggested.

"Fine, I will." Emmett said, straightening up and putting his shoulders back, but Alice grabbed his arm in a death grip.

"No! You can't!" she cried.

"Why not?" Emmett asked, disbelievingly.

"Because I may, or may not be in love with the guy already!"

"Seriously Alice?" Edward snorted with laughter.

"Yes seriously!"

"Then why don't you want to talk to him then?" He asked, confused.

"Because I don't want him to see me like this I'm a mess! I haven't changed since we got here. I'm still wearing my travelling outfit! I need to wear something nice."

"Alice," I said soothingly, "You look fine. In fact you look better than fine. You look great. Stop fussing!"

"What would you know? You can hardly be called a fashion guru!" she shot back.

"Ooh, I'm hurt," I said sarcastically, "Look, Alice, I know I may not be the greatest at the whole fashion thing–"

"Understatement of the century," she muttered with a grin.

"–but I do know that if you really like him, and he likes you back, then it doesn't matter how you're dressed."

"Actually, it's a well known fact that boys hold a lot of store of first impression," Edward contradicted.

"Shut up!" I snapped, elbowing him in the ribs, but luckily Alice didn't notice as she immediately looked perkier.

"Yeah, you're right Bella!" she said happily, then gasped as she saw that Emmett had got bored of our conversation and was walking determinedly towards the two beautiful, yet seemingly unreachable people.

"Emmett!" she screamed, "I am going to kill you!" She charged over just as the boy looked up at her.

_Oh boy,_ I thought as I followed her more slowly, followed closely by Edward, Jake and Nessie having gone off somewhere by themselves. _This is going to be interesting._


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight. I'm just borrowing her characters for some fun!**

_Previously..._

"_Emmett!" she screamed, "I am going to kill you!" She charged over just as the boy looked up at her._

Oh boy_, I thought as I followed her more slowly, followed closely by Edward, Jake and Nessie having gone off somewhere by themselves, _this is going to be interesting_._

* * *

Chapter 3 – Having Fun

"Why hello, miss, it's so nice to meet you," the boy drawled in a Southern accent. The girl hit him.

"Jasper, stop that, just cause you think it's sexy, it doesn't mean that it is!" she snapped. She turned to Emmett, who had just arrived, and her jaw literally dropped. In a split second, she had gone from being annoyed at her brother to being all flirty for Emmett.

"Hi," he said stupidly, as she fluttered her eyelashes, "I'm Emmett."

"Hi Emmett," she purred, "I'm Rosalie. Nice to meet you."

Emmett blushed. I couldn't stop myself; all of a sudden I burst out laughing, immediately stopping and turning red as everyone turned to look at me, and Edward, who was also chuckling beside me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "It's just that all your flirting was way over the top. Can't you just act normal or something?"

"Alice can't," Edward piped up, "She hasn't acted normal since the day she was born. She was even a hyperactive baby."

I snorted again at that; I could imagine so easily.

"Well, I guess." Rosalie said dubiously, "but just don't blame me if I do it by accident. And only if Emmett doesn't flirt either," she said smoothly, looking at Emmett through lowered eyelids.

I coughed obnoxiously.

"Sorry. Force of habit." She grinned sheepishly.

"Don't worry; Emmett can't flirt for toffee, so you don't need to worry about that," Alice reassured her.

"That's righ- Hey!" Emmett cried, and we all laughed.

"How are we getting along so well, already?" Rosalie asked incredulously, "I never get on well with people. They think I'm too stuck up, even if I try not to be." She looked a bit dejected at this.

"Don't worry," I assured her, "I'm the same; I find it hard to make friends, yet I feel like I've known these guys for years. Would you believe that I only met them this morning?"

"What, no!" she cried, looking astounded, "You get on like you've known each other forever! That's so weird!"

"Tell me about it," I said, rolling my eyes conspiratorially at her, and we shared a grin.

"Talking of being friends for years, is it lunchtime yet?" Emmett asked, "I haven't eaten for ages."

"You had a sandwich, just before we explored the ship. That's hardly ages." Edward said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah," Emmett replied, as though he was talking to a four year old, "That was ages ago; at least an hour!"

We all shook our heads, including Rosalie and Jasper, who seemed to have got to grips with Emmett's strange behaviour already.

"Ok, well to accommodate for Emmett's exceptionally large stomach, shall we go and eat, then change to go in the pool?" Alice suggested, and as no one had any complaints about this, we set out for the cafe that was situated by the pool. We had all received cards in the post that had come with the travel details that allowed us to have three meals a day, which were included in the initial cost. They also had about twenty dollars a day for spending money, making them a sort of equivalent to a credit card. Rosalie and Jasper, of course didn't have these, as they pretty much owned everything on the ship already and it was a little weird seeing them treated so deferentially by the staff, although they obviously hated it.

"We tried to persuade Dad to give us the cards too, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said that we had access to whatever we wanted as this would actually be our ship one day, and therefore it would be like giving ourselves money. He didn't listen to our argument that we wanted to be like everyone else." Rosalie grumbled to me as we queued. She also explained that they didn't have to queue, but wouldn't hear of us suggesting that they go ahead while we waited.

"You're the only people who have been nice enough, and un-prejudiced enough to talk to us. We're not going to let you go now!" Jasper joked, although I guessed that there may have been a larger element of truth there than they let on.

We just sat down, having got our sandwiches, or five in Emmett's case, when the girl who had been looking hungrily at Edward during the introduction sauntered over, with a girl with bright red hair at her side.

"Edward," she simpered, "I've been looking all over for you! I missed you."

"Tanya," he smiled, getting up and offering her his place, pecking her on the cheek at the same time, "All I've been doing is spending some time with my family, and I met some new friends. Sorry that I took so long."

"It doesn't matter that my Eddie; I was just so excited at going on holiday with you that I wanted to spend some time together." She explained, while glaring at me, although she had very little reason to, as far as I was concerned. They were clearly a couple, although Edward didn't actually seem that interested in her, as he hadn't been at all bothered about finding her, while he'd been hanging out with us. And even though I had a crush on him, and looking at Edward made me go all weak at the knees, I hadn't actually done anything or said anything to anyone that would suggest that I even remotely liked him as more than a friend. Maybe she was just jealous, I decided.

Tanya immediately sat in Edwards's proffered seat, leaving no room for her friend and so we all budged up, squashing up to accommodate her.

"Who's your friend, Tanya?" asked Alice, a little icily. She had a slightly disgusted expression on her face while looking at her, and it struck me that they did not get on at all, and that Alice did not approve of Edward's choice of girlfriend.

"Oh, this is Victoria," she said, waving her hand carelessly in Victoria's direction, who nodded briefly, then looked away, inspecting her fake red fingernails. I lost interest in her immediately. If she didn't want to talk to us, then I didn't have the time to talk to her either.

"So Eddie," Tanya said playfully, "What'cha doing?"

"Well, we thought, that once we'd finished eating, we could just hang out by the pool. Alice obviously wants to go and change; and I think she is determined to drag Bella along with her, so we were going to change into our trunks."

"Sounds like an amazing idea!" she squealed, "Oh, Edward you are soo clever! Come on Victoria, let's go get changed now! See you in a minute Eddie!" And she sauntered away with Victoria, who only looked too happy to leave.

"Ugh, sycophant much?" Alice asked, with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hush Alice," Edward chided, though it was only a half-hearted effort, "I know you don't like Tanya, but can you at least tolerate her? For me?" He looked at her with those soulful green eyes, and I could see her melting under his gaze.

"For you, Edward, but don't ask me to do anything more." She warned.

"Of course!" he said, giving her a crooked grin, that would have left me panting if I hadn't have got a better grip on myself, and managed to keep a cool head.

"So, what do you reckon of her friend, Victoria?" Rosalie said, putting a surprising amount of venom into Victoria's name. All of a sudden I could see why people would be intimidated by her, and not just her amazing good looks, and I shivered slightly.

"Egotistical bitch." Emmett summed up in two words.

"Wow, Emmett," I said, in mock surprise, "That was a long word. Who knew?"

"Hey!" he cried; "Just because I'm simple, it doesn't mean I'm thick!" We all laughed.

"Of course not Emmett," I soothed, "It's just strange hear you say it. As it happens I agree with you. You described her perfectly."

"Yeah," he said pointedly, looking at his siblings, whose mouths had dropped open with shock when he'd said 'Egotistical'. I was slightly confused as to why he'd done this, but it was probably something to do with his smartness; from what I'd heard already, the others thought Emmett's five year old behaviour extended to his knowledge as well.

"Well," Alice said dubiously, "I guess that explains how he got through high school on his first attempt. And I thought he'd somehow cheated!" she finished jokily.

"No!" Emmett retorted with a pout, and finished off his final sandwich with a smack of his lips and a large burp, which earned him a smack from both Alice and Rosalie.

"Emmett, that was gross. I know that we're not allowed to flirt with each other, but that doesn't mean you should try to put me off instead!" Rosalie scolded, furiously.

"And, it makes your claim that you are actually smart, much less believable." I added, sagely.

"Whatever," he decided, after a moment's pause. Rosalie and I shook our heads at each other, puzzled once again at Emmett's strange behaviour.

Very soon, we had all finished our sandwiches, and so we headed back down to our rooms. Alice and I discovered that Rosalie actually had a room very close to ours, and that being daughter of the owner meant that she had it all to herself. She also had extra room in her closet that Alice snapped up immediately, so that I wouldn't be living out of my suitcase for the next two months.

We changed into our bikinis quickly. Well, Rosalie and I did, as Rosalie had very little to put on, being that her bikini was virtually non-existent and I had a choice between two bikinis and a tankini. It wasn't even difficult for me to choose, as I honestly didn't care what I looked like, as Edward already had a girlfriend, meaning that I wasn't any competition, especially compared with Tanya, who was utterly stunning, whereas I was distinctly average. However, Alice had brought about ten different swimming outfits, and spent at least ten minutes debating with herself, whether she wanted to do the same as Rosalie, or be demure and cover up with a tankini. Eventually I persuaded her that somewhere in the middle was the best option, and so she finally opted for a bikini that covered everything essential, but was still relatively revealing.

Then she decided that she needed to redo her makeup with waterproof stuff so it didn't run and make her look like some kind of panda, which seemed to take another age, especially as Rosalie also decided that it would be a good idea to do, just as Alice was about to finish.

Finally we were ready to go, so we donned some shorts and a loose top to get to the main deck without being absolute sluts, and left. As I'd suspected the boys were already there, having got bored of waiting for us, but surprisingly, Tanya and her friend still weren't. This was strange, as we'd been an age, as Emmett complained very loudly to us from the other end of the room, and no one could have taken longer than Alice as she was possibly the slowest person at deciding what to wear ever.

"Bella!" Emmett cried, as soon as he'd finished his rant, and gotten over what Rosalie was wearing (clue: nothing). His mouth had dropped open, and he'd seemed lost for words. Strangely enough, Emmett had seemed to have the same effect on her, and I'd only just managed to stop myself melting into a puddle at the sight of Edward's incredibly toned abs, and chiselled six pack.

"Come and go on the surf machine with me!" he yelled, unnecessarily, as I was standing right next to him.

"Can you say that a bit louder?" I bellowed in his ear, much to the girls' embarrassment, "I didn't quite catch that!"

Emmett drew in a massive breath, and suddenly fearing for my eardrums, that had suffered enough that day, I quickly agreed to go on it.

I immediately regretted my decision, as after about two seconds I fell off, and bruised my hips as I hit the board on the way down.

I stopped going on the cursed machine straight away, and was followed by a reluctant and complaining Emmett.

"Shh!" I said suddenly to him.

"Why?" he whinged, like a two year old, "And don't tell me to shh. I will do what I like, thank you very much!"

"Yes, well would you like to stop your sister getting off with my cousin?" I asked in hushed tones, indicating them where they were indeed making out in the middle of the pool.

"Ew!" Emmett cried loudly.

"Emmett," I said, incredulously, "Do you even understand the meaning of quiet?"

"Nope!" he replied, popping the 'p', albeit more quietly than before, thus causing me to grin reluctantly.

"Well, if you shut up, I can explain my amazing plan to you, and we can break the lovebirds up."

"Ooh!" he cried excitedly, before I glared at him, and he shut up, a sheepish expression on his face.

"Sorry," he whispered, then covered his mouth up as I gave him a look.

Quickly, I outlined my plan, which was glaringly simple, and incredibly fun at the same time, although I couldn't help but have my doubts that I would survive. Knowing me and my luck, I would probably drown or something.

Positioning ourselves relatively close to Jake and Nessie, I counted down silently, and did the same with my fingers so that Emmett knew I exactly when to go, and when I hit zero, we both pelted towards the pool, yelling "Cannonball!" as bombed either side of Jake and Nessie, causing tidal waves, although Emmett's were distinctly larger than mine.

It had the desired effect. Both Nessie and Jake were submerged by the cascades of water, and when they came up, they were most definitely not kissing anymore. Jake glared at me, but I just gave him a sugary-sweet smile before climbing out and joining Alice, Rosalie and the other two boys at the deckchairs they had managed to snag, although I suspected that the Hales' status had helped. Edward leapt up and hugged me. I was very taken aback, and tentatively returned the hug, marvelling at the electricity that I felt surging between the two of us. However I appeared to be imagining it, as Edward apparently felt nothing, and carried on embracing me as though nothing was happening.

"Um, what is this for?" I asked.

"You got that dog away from my little sister. I'm trying to show my gratitude." He replied, a little aggressively.

"Excuse me," I said archly, "But that dog happens to be my cousin. I'd rather you didn't insult him."

"Don't listen to him," Alice called, from where she was stretched out, with her eyes closed, soaking up the sun, "He always has been an overprotective fool, especially around Nessie. He's worse than a father!"

Suddenly I heard a loud, angry, shrill voice. "What are you doing, draping yourself all over **my **boyfriend?"

Edward and I pulled apart quickly, not having realised that we were still entwined; it had felt so natural.

"Tanya," Edward said in a placating voice, "I was the one who started the hug, not Bella."

"Don't try to cover for her. I know how you like to be a gentleman," she snapped, before turning on me, "And as for you, you slut, I would think twice before you go throwing yourself at every Tom, Dick and Harry on this ship. Some of them will already be taken!"

"I wasn't throwing myself at anyone!" I retorted right back, "I was merely receiving a friendly hug from a friend, who was feeling grateful in a friendly way for doing him a favour as a friend, as any one of my friends here can confirm! Capiche? Or do I have to explain it really slowly for you to understand?"

"How dare you!" she seethed, furious at my insinuation. "I could have you thrown off this ship!"

"I don't think you could," Rosalie stood up and walked towards her, looking menacing, "My father happens to own this ship, so I believe I have that power and not you. Besides, I like Bella, so I'd rather she stayed. However, bimbos like you, who just seek fights and love to bitch about nothing, those I have no time for." And with that Rosalie turned on her heel, and stalked off.

"Well, the, the, argh!" Tanya screamed, unable to come up with a good response, and was on the brink of storming away herself, when Emmett finally dragged himself out of the pool, and shook his head like a dog, and spraying Tanya with water.

"AHHHH!" she screeched, "You've ruined my hair, you imbecile!"

"Hardly," I scoffed, possibly slightly unwisely, "You've got, what, three drops of water in your hair. Trust me; that is not ruined. It merely reflects the number of brain cells you have." Before Tanya could retort, I went and joined Rosalie who had ordered everyone drinks at the cafe. I helped her carry them over, but she seemed rather cool towards me.

"Rose, thanks for helping me stand up to Tanya," I offered meekly, wondering what was up.

"She needed taking down a peg or two. Even though you are getting on way too well with Emmett, whom you know I like, I couldn't just stand there and let her walk all over you. Although, to be fair, you were doing a pretty good job."

We arrived back at the deckchairs, where everyone was now gathered, except for Edward and Tanya, who were on the other side of the room, on another set of deckchairs, swapping spit.

"Is that why you're annoyed at me?" I asked, setting the drinks down on the small table next to the deck chair, "Because I'm getting on really well with Emmett?"

Rosalie sniffed, which I took to be a confirmation of my theory.

"Oh, honey, you don't need to worry about us! You know the first thing he said to me when he saw me? He called me his new sister! And that's exactly how I feel about him already! I know that we only met a couple of hours ago, but it already seems like years, as I said earlier, and Emmett is like my big brother. There is nothing between us except platonic friendship. Something which the tonsil-tennis star doesn't seem to understand!" Rosalie grinned at this last bit.

"Edward does seem to be a bit of a hypocrite, doesn't he? Overprotective about his little sister who can fend for herself one minute, sucking face the next!" She made no mention of anything I'd just said, but in a way I was glad. I understood instinctively that it was her way of telling me that she had forgiven me, which I took with open arms.

"Now, will anyone come in the pool with me, or are we just going to watch it all afternoon?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "I didn't put this bikini on just for fun you know!"

Everyone laughed, and even Alice decided to join in, despite her worry about the chlorine in her hair. We messed around all afternoon in the pool, even getting Jake and Nessie to break apart, and join in with the fun. The only damper on the mood was that Edward never joined us, and he soon disappeared with Tanya, to do something which I dreaded to imagine, even though Alice and Emmett assured me it had never happened before, and probably, considering Edward's morals, wouldn't until he got married.

It was the most fun I'd ever had, and I was annoyed when Alice insisted that we leave over an hour early to prepare for the welcome evening, despite my complaints and determination that I wasn't going to dress up in anything fancy for it. In the end everyone parted at the same time, and agreed to meet back for at the elevators fifteen minutes before the evening officially started, and I was left to my fate with Alice.

* * *

**AN: Less than a week! Who's proud of me? Lol.**

**Thanks to my Beta, HopingForLove for getting this back to me as soon as she returned from Turkey! And also thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Maybe we can get to 10 reviews for this Chapter? That would really make my day! ;)**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Love Lx**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey, this would have been up earlier if it hadn't been for my stupid laptop!**

**Disclaimer: None of the character belong to me. I own the plot, but the rest is Stephenie Meyers which I am cheekily borrowing for now.**

_Previously..._

_It was the most fun I'd ever had, and I was annoyed when Alice insisted that we leave over an hour early to prepare for the welcome evening, despite my complaints and determination that I wasn't going to dress up in anything fancy for it. In the end everyone parted at the same time, and agreed to meet back for at the elevators fifteen minutes before the evening officially started, and I was left to my fate with Alice._

Chapter 4 – An Evening of Fun and Entertainment

"Remind me again why I have to wear this skelt?" I grumbled, trying in vain to pull the skirt below my bum for the umpteenth time.

"Stop complaining! And quit fussing!" Alice snapped, slapping my hands away from the skirt, "You know it's to attract Edward and get him away from Tanya!"

"Oh, right, yeah," I grumbled, not convinced that displaying my bottom would be the way to attract him and wishing desperately that Alice's prediction would come true. It had started in her bedroom as she insisted on 'Barbie-ing' me.

"So, what is it with you and Tanya?" I'd asked, trying to sound nonchalant and undoubtedly failing.

"Edward and Tanya, don't you mean?" she said crossly, "Basically they've been going out as long as anyone cares to remember. The thing is; Tanya was nice at the start. They were about eleven when they first got together, and it was really sweet, because Edward bought her candy during recess and we all would just play together; getting married and stuff. But then we started high school, and all of a sudden, Tanya is on the cheer-leading squad and hanging out with the über-popular crowd, and Edward is on the baseball team, and they were the 'it' couple of the year. All of a sudden she didn't have the time for me anymore. I was the weirdo. She was never actually mean to me, or bitchy; it was more like I didn't exist anymore. She also became really shallow and self-centred. I just lost all respect for her because of that. Once upon a time she was good enough for Edward, but now, I'm not so sure. That's why I want to show him that you are like a previous Tanya, but even nicer, because you are kinder than she ever was."

I blushed, "Um, thanks, I think."

Alice stepped back to appraise her handiwork.

"I was right; you really don't need that much make-up. You are lucky in that way. And don't worry; I have only enhanced your natural beauty; I haven't plastered you in slap."

"Thanks," I said, smiling at her genuinely, and finally allowing myself to look in the mirror.

I gasped. What I saw was amazing. I looked, if I was honest, quite pretty. The make-up was flawless; it looked like I wasn't wearing any, while still accentuating my cheekbones and eyes. I was stunned by Alice's master artwork.

"Wow," I whispered, shocked.

"I know;" she said smugly, "Now let's find something for you to wear."

"Um, Alice, I think at seventeen I know how to dress myself, without embarrassing myself too much." I said, hopefully.

"Pah!" she snorted, "Based on what you were wearing earlier? I don't think so."

"Fine!" I rolled my eyes, "Can I at least have something out of my own wardrobe, as opposed to something you force upon me?" I bargained.

This had worked until Alice had gone through every single item of clothing I had brought with me, and declared it all 'unsuitable for tonight's party'. I couldn't persuade her that it wasn't a real party either, just an evening for entertainment and getting to know each other. And that was that; I ended up in a tiny skirt, although she did let me wear thick purple tights, I still wasn't exactly comfortable, and, luckily, a top that covered the upper half of my body comfortably, so I didn't feel completely exposed. I was also forced to admit that Alice had done a good job with me, no matter how painful it was.

We arrived on the main deck, where the reception area had been earlier, and I was astonished at the change that had occurred. We had been told that we would be here for our night of entertainment, but instead there were a large number of tea-lights that made a path out of the room in the other direction to the pool area. It led us down a flight of stairs to a large room in which there was a dance floor that covered the whole room, and scattered around the edges were tables that focused on different activities. I saw one table where people were painting, another was covered in a various assortment of fabrics, and Emmett and Edward were at another that had a load of different puzzles on it, such as Sudoku or crosswords, or just ordinary puzzles. They were gazing bemusedly at the lady, as she described each puzzle in a very excited voice. I actually could see the amusement of Emmett's face at her inability to understand that most people had met this sort of thing off the ship.

"Ooh!" Alice's excited squeal reached my ear, "Can we go to the design table? I want to practise making things. It's my dream to be a designer one day, though not interior design. Mom does that well enough."

"Sure," I agreed easily, "But maybe we should rescue your brothers first. They look like they are in pain."

"Nah, she'll finish in less than five minutes anyway," Alice decided as she appraised them briefly, "Let them be tortured for as long as possible, I say."

"Fine, it's your call!" I laughed, and we made our way to the design table. Alice immediately started attacking the fabrics; she had clearly already designed at least one outfit. I started doodling on a piece of paper, not really knowing what I wanted to make, when I realised I was drawing eyes, and then shading them in a piercing green colour. I stopped quickly, and shoved that piece of paper to the bottom. It was wrong of me to be fantasising after a man who was already spoken for.

"Hiding something from me?" asked a velvety voice, right in my ear. I squeaked and jumped about a foot in the air, almost hitting Edward square on the chin with my shoulder.

"No, not you," I mumbled, blushing scarlet. Technically I wasn't lying, as I was hiding it from everyone, but that didn't stop all the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Do you know what I think, Isabella?" he whispered in my ear, "I think that you are lying and that you are hiding something very important from me." I went, if possible, even redder.

"It's nothing important," I muttered, even more quietly.

"On the contrary, Miss Swan; everything you think is important."

"Hardly," I scoffed, finally able to get back on solid ground for a minute, and try to ignore the effect Edward's proximity was having on me.

"It is. Don't let anyone tell you that what you think, or feel, is unimportant," Edward insisted, with surprising intensity, his green eyes boring into mine.

I dropped my gaze, unable to hold his gaze any longer.

"Well, it looks like Alice will be here, occupied for a while. Why don't we have a look at some of the other tables?" he suggested; his voice a great deal lighter than it had been earlier.

"What about Tanya?" I asked, "Don't you want to spend some time with her this evening?"

"I spent all afternoon with her, and now I want to hang out with my friends. She can live without me for a few hours."

I dropped it; Edward clearly did not want to talk about his girlfriend, and I didn't really want to show how much it hurt when he referred to me as a friend, rather than anything more. Although I knew that while Tanya was in the picture, I could never be anything more than that.

We spent the next hour or so moving around the different tables, mainly sticking together with one or more of our little group. It kind if defeated the point of the evening, but I was having fun, and I'd already made five great friends, six, if I was counting Nessie.

Rosalie and Jasper turned up late, having done things like this several hundred times before and they brought a whole new light to it. I'd never have guessed but Jasper was quite funny in his own, slightly sarcastic manner. Tanya and her friend didn't turn up at all; this kind of childish bonding was clearly below their attention. In fact they only appeared when the food was served, although they may as well not have, the tiny amount they ate.

We were all sat at the same table, which had been cleared for the meal, and were just chatting away, and having a laugh, as usual, despite Victoria's best attempt to kill the mood with her pointed disinterest. There were two seats spare which we were hoping to save for Jake and Nessie, who had disappeared again, but they were unfortunately filled by the blond, spiky-haired boy and the short curly haired girl whom I'd seen earlier.

"Hi! I'm Mike!" the boy said excitedly, "And this is Jess!" _Wow, he is bubbly!_ That wasn't exactly what I was expected.

We all introduced ourselves, and they immersed themselves in our conversations, not necessarily for the better. Jess threw herself at Edward, which was a really stupid idea, considering that he was sitting with his girlfriend, and vice versa. He may have been the most beautiful boy I had ever seen, but that didn't mean he had to be accosted by every single girl he met. But then, Mike was firmly trying to attract my attention.

"So, Bella, can I call you that?"

"Sure," I replied nonplussed; it was what everyone else called me. I would have already made an objection if I didn't like that name.

"So, Bella, where do you come from?"

"Forks, Washington."

"Oh my gosh; that's such a coincidence! I used to live there. Well only for a couple of years when I was a baby, but still!"

"Wow, yeah, that's such a coincidence." I said, slowly. In all honesty, it was unusual, but he hadn't exactly lived there long. For all I knew, he could have lived in every state on the continent.

"Yeah, my Mom thought that all the rain would be bad for me or something. And I think she wanted to live in a bigger city. That failed. We moved to Idaho where my Dad set up another outdoor survival shop, like he had in Forks. Do you know it? Newton's?"

"Yeah, I didn't know your Dad set it up though." That was actually interesting, that the name still lived on, after he had left.

"It's still there? Sweet!"

"Yep, and it still has the same name. You're taking over the world Mike, one step at a time!" I joked, but it seemed to fall flat.

"Yeah!" he cried, an expression of pride on his face, "Yeah! I am!"

Luckily I didn't have to explain my joke as right then the music came on and everyone rushed to the dance floor, except for me. I was so inept at just walking that I didn't even want to attempt dancing. I sat in my seat and watched the others. It was rather amusing; Emmett was showing Rosalie his 'moves' which were ridiculous and had me in stitches. Tanya was pressed very closely to Edward, although he didn't seem to be complaining. I moved on quickly; it was painful to watch. Jasper and Alice were oblivious to everyone surrounding them as they moved slowly together on the spot, and Jacob and Nessie were just as oblivious, and also a lot more destructive. It seemed that they were rather inept at dancing in general, and so they were cutting a large gap through the crowd with their antics. Mike and Jessica were dancing together as well, although it seemed as though they were having more of an argument than anything else.

All of a sudden Jess stalked off, and Mike was left by himself on the floor. He gazed around in desperation, and hope that no one had seen him, before he spotted me, and grin lit up his face.

"Bella, do you want to dance with me?" he asked, giving me the puppy-dog eyes at the same time.

It was hard, with the expression on his face, but I had to decline. Like I said, dancing and I didn't mix well. Or, at all.

"Mike, shouldn't you go after Jess? I'm sure that's what she wants right now." I said softly, "She probably wants comforting, or an apology, or something, and you are the best person to give it right now."

He wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, I guess you're right, but she's ju –"

"I don't want to hear it! Just go." I cut him off. If he was going to bitch about her, he could do it to someone else. I wasn't in the mood and anyway, if he was doing that they probably shouldn't be together.

I sat at the table for a few more minutes, gazing idly into space, when someone cleared his throat, and I started, meeting a pair of incredibly green eyes.

"Would you like to dance with me, Miss Swan?" Edward asked, very formally.

"I can't dance, Edward." I stated.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Miss Swan. Everyone can dance, albeit some badly. However for you, it's all in the leading. I happen to be a very good dancer."

"Modest too," I remarked, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked, flashing me that crooked grin that still made me melt. "You know me; I'm always modest. Come on Bella, I haven't seen you all day, yet all my siblings can talk about is Bella this, Bella that. I want to get to know you now." His velvet voice got rather whiney at the end of his little spiel, and he pouted at me, which, surprisingly, looked really good on him. I felt my resolve weakening, a lot.

"Fine," I sighed, "But not for very long, to minimise the risk of my injuring someone." I glared at him at the same time to let him know that he wasn't forgiven for this blatant act of blackmail. "Be warned; you may very well get hurt because of this!"

"I'll take my chances," he smirked again, causing me to be more irritated by him.

"God, you're infuriating!" I burst out. His smirk grew even more pronounced.

And then we were flying. No, I hadn't tripped; without me knowing, he had got me up and led me to the middle of the dance floor, and then proceeded to whirl me around in a way that was completely inappropriate for the music, which more of a pop, club-type music with a heavy beat that just conjured up the image of sweaty bodies moving in sync and was much more suitable to the way Edward had been dancing with Tanya earlier.

That wasn't to say that it wasn't the best dancing I'd ever done in my life. Surprisingly Edward had been right; with him leading, I could actually dance without killing anyone. It was amazing.

After that, as I had a bit more confidence, I danced for a short while with Emmett who insisted on leading me around the dance floor in some kind of cha-cha-cha /tango/flamenco hybrid that basically meant he galloped up and down, carrying me along, causing people to scatter and knocking others out of the way, and with Jasper too, which was much more sedate and relaxed. It didn't last long however, as Alice claimed him back and Edward reclaimed me. Tanya appeared to have disappeared, but that didn't seem to bother him. I noticed how reticent he was when it came to his girlfriend, but supposed that he was one of those guys who really weren't into PDA all over the place.

Even Jake moved on the spot with me for one song, being that he liked dancing about as much as I did, except when it came to dancing with Nessie of course.

"And now, here comes one for all the couples out there..." said the DJ, at around midnight, "And sorry folks but this is the last song for tonight. However, there will be plenty more evenings of fun!"

I immediately tried to pull back from Edward, but he clung to me, hard, and I couldn't break away.

"Why are you going, Bella?" he asked, puzzled.

"Because Tanya will probably want to dance with you. And we are not a couple." It pained me to say those words; ironically it was true that the truth hurts, but I had to say it. I had to confirm that tonight was just a lapse in Edward's relationship with Tanya or something, or that she had gone to bed early or something. Anything to squash the hope that Edward and I could actually become more than platonic friends.

"But Tanya's not here."

"Moot point. If she were you would be dancing with her. Remember you are dating her."

"I remember," he said icily, his mood changing from slightly playful to cold anger in less than a second, "I just thought that I could spend more time with you tonight, as a friend. But as you are so fascinated with my girlfriend that clearly isn't an option. Strangely enough, when I try to be friends with a girl it always comes back to Tanya. Tanya herself is never a problem, but they make her one." He stalked off.

"Edward, wait!" I cried, full of chagrin at what I'd done. I saw now that he was only trying to be friendly, and that I'd made Tanya a massive issue. He still liked her, but he also wanted female friends, and I hadn't let him do that, being so preoccupied with her.

"Forget it Bella. I should have known."

"No!" I ran after him, and short of tackling him, I struggled to make him stop, "I'm the one at fault. I did make Tanya a problem, and I'm sorry. I don't want to lose you as a friend. I may not have spent a large amount of time with you. In fact one day is ridiculously short, but I have enjoyed that time. Tanya won't be an issue anymore, I promise." I gazed into his iridescent eyes, praying for him to believe me.

He softened slightly, "You promise?"

"I swear on my life! It's just that you don't seem to spend that much time with her."

"Bella, we are different people. Just because we are dating, it doesn't mean that we have to spend every spare second with each other. And I'll let you in on a bit of a secret."

I held my breath, not daring to believe, to even hope that they were actually having a break of sorts from each other.

"She understands Alice's feelings about her, and so we spend time apart so that I can spend time with my twin. And my family in general." He added with a shrug, seemingly not caring less that his family didn't particularly like Tanya.

My heart sank, but I put on a smile. "Thanks Edward, that makes sense, and I really do promise that I shan't let her get in the way of our friendship."

He grinned back at me, "That's all I want." And then he hugged me. Once again it was sensational, and I breathed in his heavenly scent. However, it ended far too quickly. He walked me back to my room like a true gentleman, and gave me a goodnight hug. I was quickly learning to really appreciate these hugs, and also the fact that he sought me out when Tanya was actually giving him time to be with his siblings. Of course, I was upset when he left, but reassured that I would see him again the next morning. It wasn't like he could go anywhere; after all we were on a boat, and there were no escape routes.

Luckily Alice wasn't in our cabin yet and only came in as I was getting into bed. She was ecstatic about how her night had gone with Jasper.

"Oh my God! He is absolutely the most gorgeous person in the world, and he is so nice! We get on so well and he wants to have a lunch date tomorrow, just the two of us, and he wants to take me to the cinema! I just couldn't refuse. I mean, I know that normally the way to get a guy is to play hard to get, but I just couldn't. It doesn't seem to matter anyway. And did you know that the reason he has a Texas accent and Rose doesn't is because they were split up when their parents did and he went with his Mom to Texas back to her family's ranch, while Rose and her Dad stayed in New York. They were separated for nearly their whole lives, and the only way they could meet was through this cruise. And that's why they still go on it every year, because while they still live at home, it's the only way they can have time together. Can you imagine that? Being separated from your twin for the whole year except for maybe, like two months? It would be terrible! I couldn't do that with Edward; we get on way too well. It would be horrific."

Finally she stopped to draw breath, and I laughed.

"Excited much?" I snickered.

"Alright, just because you haven't found the love of your life yet, it doesn't mean that I can't be excited now that I have!" she said indignantly, though she was giggling too, so I knew that she could tell that I wasn't exactly annoyed with her babbling.

"Come on, let's go to bed, and then the morning will come much quicker and you can see your beloved Jasper again."

At that, Alice moved like lightening to get ready; I had never seen anyone move so fast, and before I knew it she was tucked into bed and turning the lights off. But of course that wasn't the end.

"Bella?"

"Mmm?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Is there anyone you like here? I saw that Mike person trying to chat you up."

"Ugh, not him. I just don't see him in that way. Too much like a puppy. But yes, there is someone I rather like. However he's taken already, so there's no chance."

"It's Edward, isn't it?" she asked, perkily.

"Would you believe me if I said no?" I said, dryly.

"Oh my gosh, it is! That's kind of weird, but I guess I knew when you fell into him arms earlier!"

"That, Alice was mistake; I can assure you that I had no intention of falling into anyone's arms, let alone those of the most gorgeous guy on the planet."

"Sure!" she said sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes in the darkness.

"Go to sleep Alice." I told her then turned over and tried to sleep myself. Despite the slight rocking of the boat, it didn't take me long to drop off.

That was the first night I dreamed of Edward...

* * *

**AN: Dreaming of Edward? Never! Lol, hope you're enjoying it so far! Thank you to everyone who have left such wonderful reviews. I know it's cliche, but it really does make me happy to get them! And thanks for helping me get to 10! Maybe next time we could try for fifteen? Just a thought!**

**RANT ALERT!**

**My laptop charger decided to go bust on Sunday, which, typically would be the worst time in the world for it to die on me, as on Monday, I found out that, for those applying to Oxford Uni (which I am by the way ;) ) (and which is the best in the country for those who didn't know) I have to get all my essays in for today. And those essays were in no fit state to go anywhere, let alone Oxford. So I panicked, ran around like a mad hen, stole my Mum's laptop, and generally had a mental breakdown, partly due to lack of laptop (writing is my way of letting off steam, and without my laptop, where I keep all my work, I couldn't write) and got the work in, corrected and off to Oxford on time. THe next big problem is the interviews, which are in December. :S**

**RANT OVER!**

**Sorry about that; I needed to let off steam.**

**Thanks as ever to my awesome beta :)**

**Review? Lx**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just happen to own the idea for this story :)**

_Previously..._

"_Go to sleep Alice." I told her then turned over and tried to sleep myself. Despite the slight rocking of the boat, it didn't take me long to drop off._

_That was the first night I dreamed of Edward..._

Chapter 5 – Morning by the Pool

"!"

Without opening my eyes, I felt around for the nearest hard thing and lobbed my book in the general direction of Alice. There was a satisfying thump, and I grunted, ignoring Alice's cry of pain. I rolled over, to try and go back to sleep. I didn't know the exact time, but I did know that it was too early to wake up, even for a hyperactive pixie. In fact, especially for a hyperactive pixie.

"Oof!" She had jumped on me. I was not happy.

"Piss off Alice; I'm trying to sleep."

But it's the first day of our summer vacation! Why do you want to sleep?"

"So I can get away from you! Get off of me!" I did not need to tell her that Edward had weaved in and out of my dreams all night, and I wanted it to stay that way; me being with him, and not even a thought of Tanya, let alone an appearance. But that would look like I'd gone way too deep, way too early. I had, but I didn't need Alice to know that. Heck, I didn't even want to know that, because it was far too scary to contemplate how quickly these relationships had formed while I was on the ship, let alone the feelings that came with them.

"Fine, grumpy-guts, I will leave you alone, but you should know that Edward is going to spend the day with us at the pool. In only his trunks. With his six pack on show. I'm just saying."

I sat bolt upright in bed, "Give me five minutes and I'll be ready!"

Then I blushed. Obvious much? I saw Alice's evil little smirk, and narrowed my eyes at her, dishing out my best death stare.

"What?" she said innocently, though still unable to hide her grin, "I was just using all the weapons in my arsenal! Next time it will be a bucket of ice."

"You dare and I will strangle you with one of your pieces of string that you call a bikini!" I threatened, which caused Alice to burst out laughing. I pouted, and turned away in a show of annoyance. Then I realised that I would need to look in her direction to find my other bikini and a sarong. Scowling and muttering under my breath, I turned and, refusing to meet her eye, rummaged around in my stuff, before stalking into the bathroom.

"Come on Bella, surely you're not that annoyed at me are you? I mean it was just a bit of fun!"

I rolled my eyes; even without her power of the pout and doe eyes, she still made me lose my resolve. Even so, I tried to make myself sound as grumpy as possible as I called back to her.

"Fine. You're forgiven, but this isn't forgotten. Just know that I am not a morning person and I do not take kindly to anyone who tries to get me up in any manner possible. I will sleep in as long as I like and you will sneak out silently if you are awake before me. Capiche?"

"Yes," she said meekly, deciding that it would probably be a very bad idea to mess with me in the mornings, "When can I start talking to you in the mornings?"

"When I'm dressed and have had a large coffee," I replied, opening the bathroom door, and dumping my pyjamas on my bed. I was wearing a halter neck dress, with a large belt around the middle to stop it being shapeless and a pair of simple blue stripy flip-flops. The dress was also blue with strawberries on it. If I was honest, it was a bit young for me, but I wasn't really interested in that, as I just wanted to get some food in me. I was starving!

"Come on, let's go and get breakfast. We'll probably find the boys there anyway." I said, and we set off.

"Wait, let's go and find Rose!" Alice cried.

"Um, Alice, darling, that's quite possibly the worst idea in the world. Rosalie is in all likelihood, worse than me in the morning. She strikes me as a person who wants to get her beauty sleep. I'm sure she'll come and find us when she's awake."

"OK, although I think she might be a morning person like me, as she seems to have the drive to go places," Alice said, "Five bucks says she's with the boys already."

"You're on," I replied, thinking I would make an easy five dollars. And so we made our way to the main canteen, where we would normally have breakfasts and dinners although it hadn't been the previous night, due to the welcome evening that had been put on for us.

Sure enough, all three boys were there, and they were all tucking into their pastries. I decided to go for the full English; Dad used to make them for me, before my parents relationship broke down, and I missed them; they made me think of the happier times of their marriage. I noticed that Emmett very quickly joined me in the queue, despite the fact that he'd already had six bowls of cereal and around five croissants, as he eagerly informed me. He then proceeded to fill his plate with everything, so that it became some kind of tower, instead of a meal, and was in serious danger of falling off the plate.

"Um, Emmett?" I asked, trying to contain my amusement, "You do realise that you are going to run out of meals on your student card soon, right?"

"It's fine;" he assured me, "Rosie has promised to raise the budget on mine, by going to her Dad, to cater for the fact that I am a growing boy, and that I need more than three meals a day."

"So you got on well, yesterday, then?"

"Hell yeah! She's soo hot!" he lowered his voice, and I leaned in to listen to him, "I think she might actually last longer than a couple of days, unlike most of the other girls I date!" he informed me.

"Oh, that's good, so might you, if you stop dallying around with other girls!" Rosalie said coldly, making me jump about a foot in the air.

"Rosalie, I told you yesterday! What?" I stared at her in confusion as she started laughing. Emmett looked just as shocked.

"I was just joking! I know you told me yesterday. And anyway, if I said that Emmett may last longer than normal people, surely you could tell that I wasn't really serious, especially if he'd just said the same thing? Trust me; I'd dump him in an instant if he actually was dallying around with other girls!"

"I knew that," I said, weakly, which caused Rosalie to burst into renewed fits of laughter.

"Sure you did!" she spluttered, "As did Emmett. He looked like he was crapping his pants!"

"Hey! I did not!" Emmett cried indignantly.

"Yeah, you did." I replied, in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Anyway, can I go and sit down and eat my breakfast, and you know, wake up properly, before I kill someone?" I asked, plaintively.

Together the three of us strolled back over to the table where everyone else was waiting, as Alice had collected her breakfast a lot quicker than I had managed to.

"Ha!" she cried, once she'd laid her eyes on Rosalie, "Pay up Bella!"

"Not so fast, Pixie!" I replied, grinning, "The bet was that she would be with the boys when we got down and she wasn't. So actually I think I win that." I stuck my hand out for the money.

"Actually, Bella, I was here with the boys." Rosalie corrected, smiling even more broadly, "I just came over to say good morning, and scare this goofball here." She punched Emmett in the arm, who flinched over- dramatically and pretended to be hurt.

"OW! Rosie! What did you do that for?" he yelled, so both Rosalie and I smacked him, and I promised to give Alice her money when we got back to our cabin, at any time that day. I thought it was pointless, as I could just have paid for something she bought, like a couple of drinks or something, but she insisted on having the money as cash. Strange girl.

"So, Rose, how come you were up so early? I'd have put you down as someone who prefers to lie in." I asked, while tucking in to my overly greasy, yet completely delicious breakfast.

"I am, but Emmett asked me if he could meet me this morning for breakfast, and I couldn't help but agree." She said, her face softening at her last words, as she looked at Emmett. Boy, they were in deep too.

"Alice put me up to it!" Emmett blurted, "She said she thought it would be romantic of me!"

That's when the glaring contest began. I scowled at Alice, for knowing that she would win in the first place, and thus conning me out of my money. Alice gave Emmett a death stare, for blurted out this fact. Rosalie was united with me against Alice, because she believed that Emmett had done all this by himself. Emmett just looked confused at the chaos that he'd just accidentally caused.

"Ahem," Edward said, clearing his throat. "Maybe this isn't the best time to tell you Bella, but you should never bet against Alice. She has ways of winning, too many and far too devious for anyone except herself to understand them all. So if you hadn't have found out today, you probably have lost far more money to her."

Alice grinned at me while giving me her puppy dog look at the same time, and I felt all my anger at her dissipating. Making me angry at myself of course.

"Fine, but now there will be no shopping trip. I think that you've had more than enough revenge for the time being." I smiled, slightly evilly, happy to have found a way of getting out of my least-favourite pastime, but unfortunately, I looked at Alice as I did so, and immediately, my resolve weakened. It was not only the eyes now, but also her lips were in the cutest and saddest pout.

"Please Bella?" she nearly whimpered.

"I am such a sap! Fine!" I sighed; still inwardly annoyed that she could have such an effect on me.

"Yay! Can we go now? Fine, this afternoon!" she amended after a quick glare from me.

"Rose? Do you want to come?" I asked, hoping that I could at least share my pain with someone. Then I remembered that Rosalie was a glamour queen, and probably enjoyed shopping as much as Alice did. Sure enough she had a gleam in her eye.

"Sure; it sounds like fun!" she said, and that was that. I was going to be stuffed into a hideous number of clothes over an inordinate length of time, just because I couldn't resist the eyes of a devious little pixie. Joy of joys.

"Aw, but Rosie, I wanted to spend the whole day with you!" Emmett whined, sounding surprisingly like a two year old, despite his massive size and deep voice.

"Emmett," Jasper said, soothingly, "If you spend all your time with Rose, you may get bored of her way too quickly. And if you stop her doing things that she wants to do-"

"Pah! Emmett couldn't stop me doing anything; he's too soft!" Rosalie scoffed, but Jasper just glared at her and carried on.

"Then she may end up getting annoyed at you and not want to spend any time with you. Yeah? So this afternoon we'll go and have some brotherly bonding time, with Edward too, and Jake if he wants to come, and we'll go and watch a horror movie or porn if you prefer, and do some real masculine stuff. We might even go play soccer. Does that sound good to you?"

I smirked; at the end of his little speech, Jasper sounded like he was placating a two year old, and not an eighteen year old. It was very amusing.

"Cool," Emmett said, clearly having taken Jasper's advice on board already, and was trying to sound like he didn't mind that the girls were going to have an afternoon together.

"Hey girls?" Edward sounded a little anxious.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Well, I know that none of you really like Tanya that much," he shot me a look, but I kept my face impassive, like his words had no effect on me, "But I, and she would really appreciate it if you took her shopping with you. She really likes it you know, but I'm not one to take her, as I get bored after the first five minutes."

"You and me both," I muttered, and I swear he heard, because the corners of his mouth tilted slightly. Yes, I was watching his mouth. Yes, I realised that it was kind of creepy of me. No, I did not really care about it.

"Of course we'll take her shopping with us, Edward. But you can tell her that. If she doesn't want to come, that's fine too." _Please, please let her not want to come!_

I felt the stares from both Rosalie and Alice boring into me, but I refused to acknowledge them. I knew that it was their least favourite idea in the world, and I was running for least favourite person along with Tanya right now, but I hoped they would forgive me as soon as I explained my reasoning for this. I couldn't let her be an issue in any way, or I would quite possibly lose Edward as a friend.

"Yeah, I guess she could," Alice said, doubtfully.

"Yeah, whatever," Rose added.

"Great! I'll ask her later, but why don't we go to the pool now. We are wasting valuable time!" Edward grinned, and we set off to the pool.

It was great fun at the pool, although I spent less time in the pool. I was feeling a bit sore from falling over on the surf machine the day before, and even the water pressing on the bruises was uncomfortable. So I spent the morning lying on my front, and reading Wuthering Heights.

"Wuthering Heights, huh?" I jumped and twisted sideways to see who was talking, although that velvety voice was far too familiar for my own good. Unfortunately, the sun loungers weren't wide enough for me to do that so I fell off it and hit the floor rather hard, all tangled up in my towel.

His laughter rang out across the deck, as I struggled to get up, cursing and swearing at the towel, when it refused to untangle from my body.

"Here let me help," All of a sudden Edward's hands were all over my body, helping get the towel off of me. I couldn't help but shiver at the little currents of electricity that ran across my body, emanating from where he'd touched me.

"I could handle it, thanks," I said, crossly, turning to look at him and noticing for the first time quite how toned he was. I had never seen such definition when it came to a six pack, not even with Jake, who liked to show his off as often as possible, proud of it, the result of much working out. Jake, that is. I had no idea what Edward had done to get his.

"Of course you could, you were handling perfectly from what I could see. Um, Bella?" he waved his hand in front of my face, and I blinked dazedly.

"Earth to Bella!" he called, an arrogant smirk plastered all over his face.

"What?" I asked pointedly.

"Wuthering Heights?"

"Yes," I snapped, "It's a good book. My favourite."

"Um, why? Those characters have nothing good about them. At all."

"What about their love? Is that not a redeeming quality for you?"

"Um, no, not really. I just don't really like them. Both Cathy and Heathcliff keep making mistake after mistake. It gets a bit dull really. There's way too much angst in it."

"Have you done a paper on this or something? You sound way too knowledgeable of the inner workings of the book to not have done so."

Edward looked confused for a moment, then grinned, "I may just have covered it in my finals."

"Yeah, well you have a very pessimistic view of the book. It's one of the greatest love stories of all time, even if it is doomed. Now if you don't mind, I was trying to read." I turned away pointedly and began to rearrange my towel on the lounger.

"Actually, I came over here to ask you something?"

"Shoot,"

"Well, I was going to teach Tanya how to surf on the surf machine, and I was wondering if you wanted to come and join us? Emmett will be there too." He sounded hopeful.

"Are you joking Edward?" I asked, incredulously, although from the dead seriousness on his face, it appeared not.

"I'm not going to show it to you, because it's in a rather private place, but I have a massive bruise from that death trap when I spent all of about a minute on it yesterday. That has made me more than a bit reluctant to get back on it, trust me." I explained, and the hurt expression that had temporarily graced his features disappeared.

"So it's not because of Tanya then?"

"Not at all," I assured him, "I'm not making it an issue, remember."

"Perfectly!" he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "You're insufferable at times you know," I informed him.

"Insufferable, am I? Well, I think you have been reading too much of the classics; you're starting to sound like them."

"Even better!" I retorted, "The classics had a beautiful way of speaking. If I ever sound remotely like they did, it would be an achievement. No one, except someone from that era could imitate the correctness and formality of their speech."

"Indeed they couldn't." Edward agreed, "There is a certain elegance to it that the language of today could never match." He gazed directly into my eyes, with the same intense expression on his face that had appeared the night before, and I got distracted again.

"Um, quite," I replied, unsteadily, and tore my gaze away from his mesmerising eyes.

He chuckled softly, "Well if you refuse to join in, will you at least watch. You may even join in with the bet. Emmett has said Tanya won't last ten minutes. I happen to disagree."

"Why?" I said, sardonically, "Do you have a higher opinion of her? I wouldn't be surprised."

"No, I don't reckon she will make the five minute mark," he responded, crooked grin firmly in place.

"Confident, I like it." I joked, "Shall we go already, or they'll wonder what we're doing."

"They will, will they?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I gave him a 'look' and stalked to the others who had all gathered around the surfing machine.

Emmett won in the end, much to everyone's surprise. I guessed that putting a toe in the rushing water would be more than enough for Tanya. It was wrong, but I couldn't always pretend that I was fine with her, after all. Alice hadn't been allowed to participate, after the incident of that morning, which she sulked and pouted about, until Jasper had wrapped his arms around her and promised that he would teach her next.

"I can already surf, thanks! It's not only the boys who learnt!" she said indignantly. Then we all laughed, as the idea of Alice on a ten foot surfboard was quite an incongruous one. Even she admitted that it was a rather amusing spectacle, but boasted that she was great at leaping up onto the board; much better than either Emmett or Edward.

"That's only because there's less distance to go, from down to up!" Emmett pouted, "It's hard for me to pull all this," he flexed his muscles, "into an upright position."

"Of course it is, Emmett," Alice soothed, "But to be fair, you did end up catching more waves. I was too light; I just rode over them!" We all chuckled at this too, but this time, it was all too easy to picture tiny Alice trying desperately trying to catch all the waves, and failing.

Tanya was actually quite funny to watch, when she wasn't being sickening. She kept draping her arms all over Edward, and insisting that he hold her. She only gave up when she feared she'd broken a nail. While Edward was coaching her, she didn't mind falling on her butt every two seconds, especially when he'd kiss it better – we all shielded our eyes or looked away – nor did she worry about getting chlorine in her hair.

Once we'd all paid up to Emmett, he went and used it to buy us all drinks, and lunch. It kind of defeated the point of the bet, but it was nice gesture, and symbolised the fact that the wager had only been a bit of fun.

Of course lunch meant that shopping was imminent. Tanya had declined the offer of shopping, but Edward had been mollified by the fact that we'd agreed to take her if she'd wanted to come. Instead, she said that she would spend time with Victoria.

Almost as soon as they had finished, the boys sloped off, and left me to my fate with Alice and Rosalie again. This was fast becoming a habit. Why did I keep doing things that I didn't enjoy?

_Well, this could be fun, maybe. It possible. You never know..._

Even in my head, the argument didn't sound great.

* * *

**AN: Hiya! Hope you all enjoyed this!**

**I would like to thank as always, my awesome beta for putting up with me emailing her at all hours! Also to all my reviewers, although there were less than normal for that chapter. I would like to point out, for those who don't know, that I will give a sneak peek of the next chapter to anyone who reviews, as long as it is written!**

**Important Note: Lera98, thank you very much for your offer to review my story, please could you tell me which one? I can't reply directly to your message as you have disabled the message feature, but I would love for you to translate it, as long as you make sure that it is known that it is my story. If it's possible I would also like to post the translation onto my site as well? Thanks!**

**Please review! Is it too much to ask for five reviews?**

**Lx**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to the amazing Stephenie Meyer. I am just playing with them. Similarly, the songs in this chapter also belong to their respective writers and/or copywriters. I am borrowing them to make an interesting story. (I hope ;) )**

_Previously..._

_Almost as soon as they had finished, the boys sloped off, and left me to my fate with Alice and Rosalie again. This was fast becoming a habit. Why did I keep doing things that I didn't enjoy?_

Well, this could be fun, maybe. It possible. You never know...

_Even in my head, the argument didn't sound great._

Chapter 6 – Torture and A Little Bit of Chemistry

"OK girls, does everyone understand the mission?"

"To find Bella the perfect outfit for tonight's disco!" Rosalie chanted.

"Why me?" I complained, "Why not either of you guys?"

"We have enough clothes already that we will be able to find the perfect outfit with what we have. However the size of your wardrobe is pitiful. Thus, you need new clothes." Alice explained.

"Dad gave me a load of new clothes for this vacation anyway, so I might as well use them." Rosalie added, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Great," I sighed, "Well let's get on with it, before I chuck myself overboard!"

"Seriously Bella, you need to sort out your priorities," Alice chided, "Shopping is a basic need for the female system."

"Along with chocolate? Sure!" I snorted, "Pull the other one."

"Let's just get on with it," Rose suggested, tactfully steering us away from a full blown argument, as Alice got more and more frustrated with my lack of enthusiasm.

We decided to hit the mall in a systematic way, to reduce time spent there and get me out of there as quickly as possible, although I could see this idea disgusted Alice.

And so it started. We went from shop to shop and I must have tried on about a hundred outfits at least. There were plenty of times when Alice pulled out her pout, or Rosalie used her status to get more clothes than were normally allowed into the changing room. There were a lot of outfits that I was happy with, but there was always something missing with them in some way or something wasn't quite right. Occasionally the girls would try something they liked themselves on, but it was mostly outfits for me and then some. I wasn't allowed to try shoes on, because 'the shoes go with the outfit, not the outfit with the shoes'. I cringed when Alice said that, because once they had found the perfect outfit, we would probably then have to trawl the shops again to find the perfect shoes. This meant more time shopping and more Unhappy Bella.

And in went on. And on. And on. And on. When I was sure that we must have visited every shop in the entire mall about three times, since our systematic hitting of the shops went out of the window after about half an hour, and I'd tried on nearly every outfit possible. Alice handed me a deep blue dress that screamed party girl; I tried it on, secretly planning on rejecting it, as it was too short for me but then I looked in the mirror and gazed at my reflection in awe. It was incredible. It fit me well in all the right places and skimmed over the bits I was less happy with.

"Bella? Are you alright in there?" Rosalie called, worried about my silence.

I gulped and tried to form words, but they got stuck in my throat.

"Bella?" This time it was Alice, "I'm coming in; is that ok?" She didn't wait for my answer, but just barged in past the curtain and walked into my cubicle. She whistled.

"Rose, come and look at this,"

"What?" Rose's head peered around the curtain, being slightly more polite than Alice, and her mouth dropped open. She came in to get a better look.

"This is it, isn't it?" she asked, quietly.

"This is it," Alice answered, solemnly.

I changed quickly, incredibly pleased that we had finally found the perfect outfit, and to top it off, I loved it too, but I was also worried about what would happen next. It had taken us three hours to find the perfect dress; how long would it be for the shoes and then the accessories? Luckily Alice solved all my problems soon after.

She quickly regained her bubbliness, on the way to the cash desk, and was happily chatting away oblivious to my slightly glum face.

"So I think that you should wear some black footless tights with these, as they will set off the length of the dress perfectly, but also tone it down for the disco and karaoke tonight, because at the moment it's more of a clubbing dress. I also think that you should wear ballet flats with them, to make it even more low key. I actually have the perfect pair of flats in our cabin. They are exactly the same colour as your dress. What size are you, because I'm a size four. You look like you're a four too, but even if you are a five it should be fine; you can just squeeze your feet into them. Of course it would be more of a problem if you were a six or higher, because then you definitely wouldn't be able to fit into them."

"Alice calm down, I'm a four too, so you're fine. Wait, does this mean no more shopping?"

"Yep!" she beamed, "Why bother shopping when you now have the perfect outfit? You do have footless tights don't you?"

"Yes," I laughed, "What sort of teenager would I be if I didn't have them?"

"An unfashionable one. Wait you're that already." Rosalie answered a wicked grin on her face as she said it. I maturely stuck my tongue out at her.

We walked back to my room, where Alice proceeded to do as Alice did best, and drew my face on. Rose lay on the bed and we chatted about things, as is the norm when girls get together and there are no boys around I learnt from Rose all the details about her parent's divorce; how it nearly killed her to spend such a long time away from Jasper, the only person at the time who truly knew her and liked her for who she was and not the mask that she put on. It was really sweet, hearing her talk about Jasper and it helped me learn a bit more about him, as he was one of the strong, silent types. Or at least he was from the impression I'd got of him. Alice of course drank it all in greedily, anxious to know anything and everything about him.

"Alice, when you've finished with your stalkerish tendencies, will you please hurry up and fix my hair already or we'll be late. At least you will, if you want to do your hair and make-up as well."

"Your hair's fine as it is. I'm not properly making you up, or it'll look like you've made too much of an effort. You don't want to put Mike off, do you?" She asked cheekily.

I lunged at her, and tackled her onto the bed. We spent a good five minutes wrestling and tickling each other and generally messing around, occasionally punctuated with Alice screaming at me to watch my make-up or it would smudge. Rose had joined in and it wasn't until we were completely breathless that we stopped.

As seven o'clock rolled around, Rosalie quickly got dressed in the outfit she'd chosen, which did look stunning on her. She had chosen a bright red halter top that stopped just short of her tummy button, and had put on a short black skirt to go with it, and black tights. She topped off the outfit with red shoes and red lipstick. Alice went for a flowery summer dress that looked amazing on her but no doubt, a look that I could never pull off. After slipping on a pair of shoes, Alice texted the boys and we set off toward the deck to check out the sunset (which according to Rose was a cruise must) before the disco itself. Alice tucked the room key into my clutch bag as apparently 'she had nowhere to put it' which after a quick appraisal of her outfit I grudgingly realised to be true.

Dressed in my new outfit, with Alice's shoes on, I was feeling comfortable for the first time on the ship. Either Alice's disapproving looks at my outfit, or the barely-there bikinis, or whatever Alice had dressed me in; none of those were the best things for me to wear and they all left me feeling uncomfortable.

We stepped out onto the deck and my mouth dropped open. The sky was a mixture of pinks, reds, oranges and yellow, all fading out into the next colour. It was like a painting and I was awestruck. We stayed out there was nearly half an hour, just watching the sky and exclaiming at it. Even as night fell, it didn't get any less picturesque. The sky faded to purples and deep blues and the stars started to come out. I wished I had a camera, to try to attempt to take a picture, even though it would never be as amazing as the real thing.

When darkness had truly fallen, we headed into the dining room for dinner. This evening's entertainment was a meal for everyone at the same time, as opposed to whenever they wanted, and a karaoke. But it had a twist; no one volunteered. You were picked, either as part of a group or a duet, or just do it on your own. You had to do it; there was no other option.

"Why do they do it this way?" I asked, pulling the doors open, and leading the way in.

"Well, when we did it the normal way, either no one volunteered and it was rubbish, or a couple of people hogged it for the whole evening. Either way, it wasn't fun. This way is much better, because everyone has to sing at least once. Yeah, there are some people who are really rubbish, myself included, but that's part of the fun." Rosalie explained, "Oh, and often the songs are like ancient or really cringey." She added as an afterthought.

We spotted the boys and walked over to their table. We were also joined by Tanya and Victoria, who had decided to attend this social. Nessie and Jake were also sat down. Jake was discussing football with Emmett, while Nessie tried to make conversation with Tanya, fruitlessly.

"Another thing," I continued, "Is there stuff like this every night, or do we get nights when we don't actually have to do anything?"

Rosalie laughed, "Well not every one of these things is actually compulsory Bella!"

"I knew that," I huffed, "It's just more sociable if we go to them."

"Exactly," she agreed, "But yes, there are nights off when we can go to bed earlier than midnight if you want, or go bowling with friends or whatever. There are normally more of those; it's just that it's the start of vacation, so there are more events available. In a few days they'll also start the daytime activities, which mean there will be less late nights, because alertness is more conducive to getting things done. They wait a bit though, so that you've made friends and stuff before you start."

"Right, cool," I said, nodding my head.

"That sounds EPIC!" Emmett boomed, "Rosie, will you do some of that stuff with me?"

"As long as it doesn't involve you using it as an excuse to feel me up inappropriately, then of course." Rosalie smiled angelically, as Emmett's face fell comically.

I laughed, "You guys are so adorable! Oh, and Emmett do you even know what any of the activities are going to be?"

"Nope," he replied happily, popping the 'p'.

"Then how are they going to be epic?" Alice asked.

"Because I'll be doing them with you guys and Rosalie." He said in a matter of fact voice. Alice and I turned to mush at his sweetness.

"Awww!" We chorused.

"Blegh!" Rosalie fake puked, and we all laughed, especially as we could see it was just an act and she felt the same as we did.

Very shortly the meal arrived and we spent the evening chatting with each other. When Nessie's attention was elsewhere, I suggested that Jake took her to see the sunset at some point during the vacation, as it truly was spectacular, and I was disappointed that I would have to wait another twenty four hours to see it. Although I would never get the timing of it wrong; being at the equator (or there about) meant that sunset was about the same time every night.

All too soon, the desert plates were taken away, and I felt a bunch of butterflies explode into life in my stomach. _Why am I doing this again?_

"Because it's fun Bella and everyone has to do it. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Alice reassured me. I'd clearly just spoken aloud. Oops.

I scanned the room; there were actually quite a lot of people here. I had a feeling that we were going to be there for a long time.

"Good evening and welcome to this evening's entertainment!" Cried the DJ; the same as the night before. "Tonight is going to be a bit different to normal!"

I rolled my eyes, and my gaze wandered again as he babbled on about the rules. I felt the atmosphere of the room get lighter and more excitable, but palpably more nervous as he continued outlining them.

"But how are we going to pick?" the DJ said excitedly, "Well, we have a large bowl here, and everyone's name is in there. We will pull names out of the bowl, and that is who is going to sing. There are no pull-outs, and obviously, if it's a duet, or a group song, then we will get more than one name. Are you ready?"

When no one answered, he took that as a yes, and carried on.

"OK then, the first song is... 'You're Gorgeous' by Babybird and the person singing it is... Emmett Cullen!"

We all laughed and Emmett beamed as he stepped up. The DJ looked a little intimidated by him, so quickly handed him the microphone before scurrying out of harm's way.

He had the right idea. As the song got bigger and louder, Emmett's actions got more exuberant. It was hilarious to watch and surprisingly, not at all painful on the ear. Emmett's voice was quite good; deep and a little throaty. He hit a couple of wrong notes, but it was to be expected. And it certainly was a performance. He basically serenaded Rosalie, pointing at her every time the chorus went on, and although she put on that she just found it a bit annoying she did actually enjoy at the end, if the massive smooch she gave him was anything to go by.

As the evening proceeded, it was a very interesting experience. There were some painful performances, especially from Mike, who warbled Leona Lewis' 'A Moment Like This', and a girl called Leah Clearwater, who just glowered at a boy the whole time, shouting the words of 'It Should Have Been Me' by Yvonne Fair.

"And now we have a group song. Spice Girls with 'Wannabe'. And singing it are, Tanya Denali, Nessie Cullen, and Victoria Savage."

I felt sorry for Nessie, having to go up there with Tanya and Victoria, who both looked... excited. I wondered what was going on, but as soon they started singing, I couldn't help but laugh. Nessie was amazing. She sang with a high, clear soprano that sounded a little like bells chiming. It was beautiful. Unfortunately it was marred by the, interesting, interpretation by Victoria and Tanya. I don't think a single note was in tune. At all. Yet they were wiggling their hips and trying to be all sexy, while dying cat noises poured out of their mouths. It was incredible how seriously they were taking it.

I saw Alice's shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter and Rosalie had her lips pressed very tightly together still with a very broad grin on her face. It set me off even worse, until I had tears pouring down my face. I just couldn't help it. It was like I was letting off steam for everything that had already happened with Edward.

Edward. I wondered how he would take it, when I was supposed to be not making Tanya an issue, even though I was making it an issue by thinking about not making her an issue the whole time. I was already getting confused; something which happened easily when I was hysterical. But when I looked at him, he was just switching his gaze between Tanya and me, a smirk on his face. I breathed a small sigh of relief at his apparent approval of my instinctive actions.

This relief was soon dissipated when, a couple of songs later, they called my name. I hadn't even caught the name of the song. Then Edward's name was called. Even worse.

"What song are we doing?" I asked, as we walked up.

"'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' by Elton John and Kiki Dee," he replied, whispering slightly, as we got closer to the stage. As I took the microphone, I felt anxious; it was such a famous song.

The music started, and before I knew it, Edward was singing.

_Don't go breaking my heart,_

I was astounded at Edward's voice; it was breath-taking. I gaped for a second, but managed to pull myself together for my line.

_[I couldn't if I tried]_

_Oh honey, if I get restless_

_[Baby you're not that kind]_

_Don't go breaking my heart_

_[You take the weight off of me]_

_Oh honey, when I knocked on your door_

_[Ooh I gave you my key]_

We came together for the chorus, and surprisingly, my voice didn't sound too bad when mixed with his, although I was painfully aware how beautiful his was compared to mine.

_Ooh, ooh, nobody kno-o-ows  
But when I was down, [I was your clown]  
Ooh, ooh, nobody knows it (nobody kno-o-ows)  
But right from the start [I gave you my heart]  
Ooh, ooh, [I gave you my heart]_

The rest of the song went by in a flash and before I knew it, it was coming to an end. We rounded up for the big finale and together both of us belted it out together.

_Don't go breaking my, don't go breaking my  
I won't go breaking your heart!_

I suddenly became aware of a tumultuous noise. I looked around it awe as I saw that he whole audience was on their feet, stamping and screaming. It was like we were celebrities or something. Girls were certainly interested in Edward now, judging by the screams as he took my hand and we bowed together.

How had I not noticed this before? I had been so wrapped up in Edward and in not screwing up the song for him, that I had forgotten that there were nearly two hundred people here.

But the applause was amazing and I now felt really buzzed. I had never felt such an adrenaline rush. And it was certainly the biggest applause of the night.

No one topped our performance for the rest of the evening. At least, the applause wasn't anywhere near as loud as it was for us. I was still riding on a high as I went to bed, so even Alice's incessant chattering didn't bother me.

As I got lay in the dark, I thought over the past few days and was amazed at how much we had crammed in, and how close I'd got to everyone so quickly, even Rosalie, who had at first been a bit of an Ice Queen.

If I hadn't had this feeling enough already, I couldn't stop reflecting on how good this summer was going to get if it followed the current trend. And that brought a huge smile to my face.

* * *

**AN: Awww! Bella and Edward are so sweet together and they brought the house down with this classic song! And anyone who doesn't know 'You're Gorgeous' look it up on YouTube. It's immense. I'm listening to it right now. I love it, and not because my Dad always serenades me with it. Yes, he is that weird :D**

** Sorry it took me ten days to get this out! I am insanely busy, and have only had one evening at home this week. However, I have also learned that I have an interview at Oxford! I am insanely excited about it and also terrified. But it does mean that for two weeks, it is very unlikely that there will be an update. Sorry guys, but after that my life should calm down a bit and I will have more time for updates. If you review, I may be tempted to update sooner...**

**Again massive thanks to my beta, who helped bridge the gap between the shopping and the karaoke. She is a very talented writer, if a little slow. Love you!**

** Please review Lx**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters do not belong to me. However the storyline which is shaping up nicely does. :)**

_Previously..._

_As I lay in the dark, I thought over the past few days, and was amazed at how much we had crammed in, and how close I'd got to everyone so quickly, even Rosalie, who had at first been a bit of an Ice Queen._

_If I hadn't had this feeling enough already, I couldn't stop reflecting on how good this summer was going to get if it followed the current trend. And that brought a huge smile to my face._

Chapter 7 – A Sticky Situation

And so the days passed. I loved every minute of it; I was surprised to find that two weeks had gone by. I was enjoying myself so much that the time just flew. I spent most of my time with the girls, which including Nessie the majority of the time. It was strange, but none of the Cullens ever felt that she was the annoying younger sister, which could often happen. They loved having her along and I enjoyed it too; she was quite stubborn, just like me, but still a genuinely nice person. And she seemed to really like Jake, which was always a plus for me.

However there was one person I really didn't enjoy tagging along and didn't get on with. Tanya. She wasn't a nasty person; in fact she was quite nice to people she liked. But for some reason, she really didn't like me. So I received the same treatment as Alice: cold indifference. Of course she loved Edward, who was blind to her faults, and let her do what she wanted. This meant she often tagged along with us and so did Victoria who appeared to be her best friend.

I didn't mind Victoria. She was quiet, although this was mainly because of her blatant indifference to everyone and everything. The only time she ever got excited was when she spoke of her boyfriend James and her brother, Laurent, who was apparently really close to her, and complained that he couldn't be on the trip with her. She could speak for hours about the both of them; she got really animated when talking about them. It was actually quite cute.

There was another quiet person, who I didn't really get to know that well. That was Jasper. He seemed like a great guy, but he was the complete opposite of Alice. The ying to her yang. He kept himself to himself, and as I wasn't one to make unnecessary conversation, I never really got to know him as Jasper, as opposed to 'one of the Hale twins'. I could see where the impression that he was aloof came from though. However it didn't bother me, as I could see that he was good for Alice, and calmed her down.

But there was one person whom I would happily throw off the boat. That was Mike Newton. He and Jess had split up soon after the karaoke night, and that meant that he spent all his energy on pursuing me. And I really didn't see him like that. He would have made a good friend, if I hadn't always been deflecting his advances. As it was, I just got irritated at his persistence. I even complained to Jake that he was nothing compared to Mike, which made him grimace and wonder aloud how he had ever felt that way. It was again a sign that Nessie was good for him.

And as for the one I wished I could pursue? Well, he was as unattainable as ever. Edward seemed to be completely attached to Tanya, which I respected, but I couldn't help falling for him a little more each day. We had been told after the karaoke that we should go for the ship musical, as we were bound to get the lead parts, but we had both declined it. I declined because I couldn't stand the attention that would bring, and he did the same because it would cut into his time with everyone; the Cullens had come on this trip to reconnect as a family, since they had become quite separate with all their different commitments.

Not forgetting the wind-up merchant, Emmett or his amazing girlfriend. I say amazing, because everyday Rosalie managed to stop Emmett from completing a scheme that would surely kill someone if he had been allowed to follow it through. She cared for him in a remarkable way, which I couldn't help but admire.

My new dysfunctional family of sorts were all out in a dingy boat during the day, so that we could do some deep sea line fishing. We had been given an in-depth but dull tutorial on the main ship, and then we were all let out to do it for real in groups. The boat was fully stocked and had enough lifejackets for all of us, which was not only the ship's policy but also the law for any boats in this area. There were eleven of us on this boat. There were the Cullens, myself and Jacob, Tanya, Victoria, and even Mike had managed to worm his way on, much to my discomfort.

"Emmett, stop rocking the boat!" Tanya squealed at Emmett, who was singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' at the top of his lungs, swaying along to it.

"Yeah, please Emmett; you're scaring away the fish!" Edward added.

"And we don't want that do we?" Jake finished seriously.

"Sorry Jake!" He boomed amiably and surprisingly, after this outburst, he shut up. We all managed to cast our lines without too much difficulty, although I did nearly smack Mike in the eye with the end of the rod as I flicked it over my head. It may have been on purpose, which is why I didn't actually manage to hit him in the end; my luck always works like that.

We all settled down and relaxed into a comfortable silence, so as not to scare away fish, although in all honesty, I didn't expect to catch anything anyway. We'd all taken off our lifejackets within fifteen minutes, much to Jasper's disapproval, as they were uncomfortable, bulky monstrosities and difficult to fish in.

It was actually quite comfortable on the boat's benches, sitting under the sun, and leaning against a soft cushion, with all my friends around. I felt myself get sleepier and sleepier. The sea-kayaking of the previous day only served to make me even more tired. Very shortly, I fell asleep.

I woke up to a loud rumbling noise. I opened my eyes as a flash lit up the sky, closely followed by another rumble. I looked around for the ship, which we were supposed to keep an eye on, but all I saw was angry sea, and a dark gray sky. I glanced around the boat; everyone was asleep. Trying to keep down my rising panic, I woke them all up.

"Guys, get up, now!"

"Wassa matter?" grumbled Emmett.

"We _all _fell asleep! The ship is nowhere in sight and there is a big storm brewing!" I cried.

"What?" Edward, Emmett and Jasper yelled, sitting up from the reclined positions they were in and looking around frantically.

"I can't believe we all fell asleep!" Alice cried, just as panicky as I was.

"It must have been the sea-kayaking yesterday," Tanya remarked calmly.

I looked at her incredulously; how could she be calm at a time like this?

"What?" she asked, "There's no point panicking; it won't help anyone. But trust me; I am as scared as you are. I can just hide it better."

This time my look was slightly admiring. I respected her for her ability to remain calmer than I could in a potentially dangerous situation.

But all of a sudden the boat rolled on a huge wave, and I noticed quite how big they had been getting while we we're sleeping. They were huge. My stomach lurched; this boat couldn't stand much bigger than this before it capsized or something. As it was a boat designed for twenty people, we did have a little room for movement, but it wasn't much, and would hardly help us. All the food we had was one hamper for our lunch. And I suspected it was depleted, what with having Emmett on board.

Surprisingly, Jasper had taken control. He was attempting to steer the boat with the rudder to try and keep its course as straight as possible but it still dipped and rolled with the waves. Occasionally we got drenched with sea water, which was very cold. I started shivering, and Edward wrapped all the girls in a blanket to try and protect us. Then he started asking Jasper for other things to do to try and help to keep the boat on course. Jasper was already dishing out instructions, and got Edward to help him with the rudder as it seemed very hard to control at that point, although he made sure that the rest of us were out of the way. Emmett was, well I don't exactly know what Emmett was doing, as I wasn't the best with boats but he was listening to Jasper's instructions and following them through. At one point he did pick up the oar that was used to paddle the boat into the shore but Jasper yelled at him to put it down as he was actually more likely to capsize the boat with it. Mike was as bad as the girls were, except for Tanya, and Victoria; close to panic, but attempting to hide it. Jake was trying to help as well, but there just weren't enough jobs for him, and he kept getting in the way, until Edward handed him the bucket, to try and bail the few inches of water in the bottom of the boat.

It didn't seem possible but the waves were getting bigger, and the storm more violent. There was a constant rumbling of thunder, and lightening flashed every few seconds, leaving jagged lines in my vision. I just knew that the boys weren't strong enough to keep the boat afloat; even seasoned sailors would have trouble in this sort of weather, and they were only seventeen or eighteen. The only person who had any kind of real sailing knowledge was Jasper. While Rosalie spent her time down in the hold with the mechanics, Jasper holed himself up in the captain's office, reading nautical charts or practised sailing in his own boats. He knew that one day he would have to take over his father's empire, and wanted to be more involved than Mr Hale was currently.

It was the most terrifying time of my life. As the boys attempted to control the boat, Jake tried to keep us from taking on too much water and we all tried to stay in the boat, since it was being chucked about all over the place. Jasper was still trying to attack the waves head on as to avoid getting hit from the side which would make us capsize. Time no longer had meaning for us; it was just the rocking of the boat and bracing ourselves for the next wave to hit us. We repeated the same motions over and over in the vain hope that it would help us in the end, and I think Alice even tried praying.

Although we were too tired and drenched to speak to each other and it was also difficult over the noise of the crashing of the waves, the rumbling in the sky, and the pelting rain on every resonant surface to hear each other, I'm sure we were all thinking the same thing. _Would the ship have noticed we were missing yet? Was anyone else in the same situation? _And most importantly, _how on earth could we have been so stupid as to fall asleep? _I reckoned that we had been asleep for nearly two hours, and unfortunately, a boat could drift a long way in that time, especially with a favourable wind and tide, and we weren't exactly getting any closer to the ship in a storm like this.

In such a storm, we could also be heading anywhere. We had no bearings whatsoever; the sky was black and all we could see for miles around was huge rolling waves. There were no obvious landmarks, and that was almost more frightening than the prospect of death. What if we survived this storm, but then died from starvation or thirst, because we were miles away from any kind of land.

Mike was turning greener and greener with every rock of the boat, and I suddenly remembered how seasick he had been the day we had been on the fringe of a tropical storm, and had a lot smaller waves than these. I grabbed the bucket off Jake, ignoring his protests; words pulled away by the wind as soon as they left his lips, and thrust the bucket at Mike.

I was just on time; Mike spewed up into the bucket, and groaned inaudibly, emptying the contents of his stomach. Without looking at the bucket, I threw its contents overboard, and then handed it back to Jake; I then forced Mike's head over the side of the boat, so that if he had another attack, he didn't have to soil it again, and he could just dump it straight into the sea instead.

We carried on like this all night, until morning, and with the lightening of the sky came a calmness of the sea; the storm was almost over. By the time the sun appeared, the sea was back to its normal flat aquamarine blue self. And now that the immediate danger was over I relaxed a bit, a lot. In fact, despite our impromptu nap of the day before, we had had very little sleep that night, and so I dozed off right away. Edward, Jasper and Emmett stayed awake, determinedly scanning the horizon for any sign of land, and directing the boat as best they could. They had now decided to put the mainsail up to try and catch the breeze, but this meant reattaching the boom which we had taken down for fishing and it caused a bit of trouble before I fell asleep, as Jake nearly fell overboard and the boat kept rocking from side to side.

I dreamed we were back in the storm, but this time I just knew that we weren't going to survive. We were tossed over the sea like rag-dolls and the boys had even less control than they had had the night before. All of a sudden a huge wave hit the boat from exactly the wrong angle and tipped it up and chucked us all into the freezing ocean. I screamed, waiting to feel the water fill me mouth and then my lungs, but instead I found myself lying on a sandy beach, gasping for breath, screams still issuing from my mouth.

A sandy beach? Could it be real? Had we really found land?

* * *

**AN: Sorry sorry sorry it has taken so long! I am very very sorry! I did warn you last time, but even I didn't expect it to take this long! But I am now on my Christmas holidays, so I should have more time to write ;)**

**I would like to give a BIG shout out to my beta HopingForLove, who knows a whole lot more about sailing than I do and so practically wrote half this chapter and made it a thousand times better! I love you!**

**So...they have finally made it to the Desert Island. I know it took a while, but I didn't want to rush it. This story is shaping up to be nearly thirty chaters if not more, so I don't want things to happen too fast.**

**As always please review, and I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**Love Lx**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me; Stephenie Meyer is the lucky owner. I'm just playing.**

_Previously..._

_I dreamed we were back in the storm, but this time I just knew that we weren't going to survive. We were tossed over the sea like rag-dolls and the boys had even less control than they had had the night before. All of a sudden a huge wave hit the boat from exactly the wrong angle and tipped it up and chucked us all into the freezing ocean. I screamed, waiting to feel the water fill me mouth and then my lungs, but instead I found myself lying on a sandy beach, gasping for breath, screams still issuing from my mouth._

_A sandy beach? Could it be real? Had we really found land?_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 8 – Desert Island

"Bella! Bella! Are you ok?" Alice's panicky voice reached my ears.

"Yeah," I gasped, "Nightmare. On the boat. We didn't make it. Horrific."

"Oh god," she said, looking at me concernedly, "That sounds bad but come on over. We're building a camp, further up the beach."

"Right," I got up stiffly, sleeping in a boat wasn't the most comfortable way to rest in the world, and followed Alice to where the boys were looking at a few coconut trees and scratching their heads.

"Sleeping Beauty's awake!" Emmett boomed when he saw me.

"'Sup?" I said, bumping fists with him. Yes, it was sort of gangster, but it had kind of developed into our thing.

"Well," he said, with an exaggerated sigh, "We are trying to find a way to turn these lovely trees into a shelter. The problem is that all we have right now is a boat that is in very bad condition, a couple of blankets and very little food."

"We're doing well then?" I joked.

Edward looked at me, crooked smirk all over his face. "You could say that," he grinned.

"Well, I might be able to help. We didn't live in a forest for nothing." I said, a bit cockily, "Can anyone climb coconut trees?"

"Yeah," Jasper spoke up, "We got taught the knack on our first ever cruise. It was one of the day activities."

"Well, we can make a type of rope from the leaves. It won't be the best but it will be functional for now. And I'm sure we'll be able to find some kind of waterproof leaves around here somewhere. We could string them up for now."

Jasper quickly shimmied up the tree, and brought down a load of leaves, as well as using our heads for bombing practice with the coconuts. He did tell us to get out the way; apparently it was our fault we didn't listen.

I showed the girls how to make this rope from the central parts of the leaves, while the boys tried to crack into the outer shell of the coconuts. The inner shell wasn't even an issue at that point, because the outside was far too much trouble for them. We laughed at the boys and slowly worked out the best way to utilise the leaves. I suspected that at some stage we would find vines or something that would work better, but it was my hope that we would get rescued sooner than that.

Eventually Emmett managed to get through the green layer of the coconut, with a huge cry of excitement. His face fell dramatically however, when he saw the brown hairy shell, instead of the white soft inside that he so wanted to eat. We were all stumped as to how we were going to get the milk out without spilling it, because we couldn't bore the outer layer like we would in civilisation, as we didn't have the equipment.

In the end we decided that it would be better to have something to eat, instead of nothing, so Emmett threw his coconut onto a rock, smashing it, and we all tucked into the sweet flesh.

By this time, I was getting worried where everyone else was as I still hadn't yet seen them.

"Oh, they went to look for fresh water; we've got very little left. We told them not to go too far into the forest, just because we don't know what's in there, but I think we might have to at some point, because we can't just live off coconuts, so we will need more food." Alice explained. I then realised it meant that we might be staying here for a while, which scared me.

"Um, so there aren't any escape plans or anything?" I said.

"Yeah, but we're not talking about that right now." Alice interjected, "It's all going to be discussed tonight, before we go to bed, when everyone is here."

"Right, ok." I said, a little confused.

"Hey, girls, why don't you go and look for firewood or something. There should be some dead wood and stuff around, or you could just look for driftwood." Jasper said, diffusing the tension that had arisen at my mentioning of the fact that we were stuck.

"Ok!" Alice said happily, grabbing my arm and dragging me away.

"Don't go too far into the forest!" Edward yelled after us, worry infused in his voice.

"We won't!" I shouted back, trying to reassure him, especially as I knew that I wasn't going anywhere near the forest. What Alice had said about not knowing what was in there worried me greatly.

"So, what happened while I was asleep?" I asked, knowing that she would fill me in, even if it was a taboo topic at that point.

"Not much. Actually most of us fell asleep while we were still on the boat, but we all woke up when we hit land. Obviously Emmett, Edward and Jazz stayed awake, and they say that they saw land about ten or fifteen minutes after we'd all dropped off, though it was very small; so they sailed us here. We tried to wake you but you were fast asleep. Jacob suggested throwing water on you or something, but I remembered the first morning and stopped it."

"Thanks!" I said fervently; I wasn't sure that being woken up by water in the face would have been the best way to be roused from a nightmare about drowning.

"So yeah, the guys picked you up and lay you on the sand, and put me on guard, though I don't know why. It wasn't like a killer whale was about to pick you up off the sand and eat you. But yeah; whatever. We all wanted to talk about what was going to happen, but Edward didn't think it was right to leave you in the dark and as the others have gone off scouting and stuff, we knew that they wouldn't be there when you woke up. So we agreed on 'dinner time' though I don't know what dinner is going to be. Fruit probably."

"Well, I'm glad that you did decide to not talk about it. I feel enough in the dark as it is. I can't believe I slept that much. What came over me?"

"Bell, we all know that you don't function well without sleep." Alice remarked, looking at me, amused.

"Yeah, but still!"

"Trust me; nothing much happened at all. You'll stop feeling out of it soon, I promise."

"Fine, whatever." I grumbled, while Alice picked up a large piece of bleached driftwood off the sand, and nearly fell over from the weight.

"Shall we take this back to the boys?" I suggested, jumping forward to help her.

We staggered back and after dumping it, went back and forth, combing the beach for wood. Luckily there were also small pieces, which we could use as kindling, and quite shortly, we had finished, having got quite a large pile.

The boys had also finished making a rudimentary cover for us, although rudimentary was stretching it a bit. It was just a covering of leaves, in case it rained, but we were severely lacking in any kind of useful equipment. Even when I went camping with my dad we'd have a bit more than this. We would have to try and make things with what little we had. I was starting to realise how hard it would be to survive on this island. We just weren't prepared. I'd seen shows and stuff where people were dumped on an island for a few weeks, but they had more than we did. And they could get rescued whenever they wanted. We didn't have this privilege.

Just as we got the fire going, (for some reason Emmett had a lighter in his pocket) the others finally turned up. Rosalie and Tanya looked very annoyed and I gathered from Jake while we were arranged the food they'd found, as well as the water they'd collected; that they'd had a massive argument, because Tanya wouldn't fill her water bottle right up, because it 'would be too heavy' and Rose had told her to stop being spoiled. I was most definitely on Rosalie's side for this, and so was Edward. In fact he took Tanya off for a bit and told her that she would have to help a bit more, because this wasn't a game; it was serious. However when they came back they were all over each other, so I took it that she was forgiven.

Using a flat rock that I'd found earlier, I tried to fry some of the fruit that Mike had found on their water hunt, which wasn't hugely successful, but it was much better than just plain bananas all the time.

Everyone was silent while we ate. We were all reflecting on how we'd got here, and how we would get away. And so, as soon as everyone had finished, Mike cleared his throat.

"So, are we going to talk about this, then or are we just going to ignore it?" He sounded quite abrasive.

"Mike, you know that we didn't talk about it earlier because of Bella!" Edward shot at him.

"Yeah, well can we talk about it now, instead of staring at our rocks?" Mike snapped back.

"We are, aren't we?" I asked, trying to stop them getting at each other. Fighting wasn't going to help anyone.

No one answered, but Mike glared resentfully at Edward.

"Right then, can anyone update us on the situation; what has happened, if there is any chance of rescue and all that sort of stuff?" I asked, trying to get the ball rolling.

"The problem is that when we were in the storm last night, we had no idea which way the wind was blowing, or the direction of the currents or anything. It didn't help that we had already lost sight of the ship, meaning that the drift in that area was also quite strong." Jasper put in, and we all stared at him.

"What? You know that I spent a lot of time in the captain's office. He liked me and I respected him, which means I actually learnt stuff in there. I looked at all his charts and things and he told me about current drift and all that stuff that affects how the boat sails."

"Fair enough," Emmett shrugged, completely unaffected by the impressed atmosphere that had overwhelmed the rest of us, "So, you reckon we are more than a bit lost?"

"Yes. In the old days we would be able to tell where we were by the stars, but with all the instruments in the office that told us our position, I never felt the need to learn." Jasper smiled ruefully, "I didn't think it would be a necessary skill."

We all laughed at this, although it was a little strained.

"But the ship must notice that we are missing or something, surely? Or at least that the boat is missing?" Alice asked in a small but slightly desperate voice

"They should, but because we weren't in sight when everyone else went in, they may have thought they had everyone. And with the storm...Well we have lost little boats like that overboard in storms like that before. So they may have thought that. And with a ship that size, there are nearly three thousand people there and we nearly all shared rooms with each other. The only two that didn't were Nessie and Jake. They could easily think that we are still there, if it weren't for those two."

"Well, it may be even easier to think that we were still aboard the ship," Jake added, looking guilty, an expression that was exactly matched by Nessie's, "We didn't spend that much time in our cabins. When we were in there, our partners were asleep. They could think that we get to bed after them, and wake up before them and leave and stuff, because that's what we did when we were there."

"And what were you doing out of your beds, so late and so early. And is it just coincidence that both of you were out and you didn't meet up with each other?" Edward said menacingly.

"No it wasn't coincidence! The first night was because I couldn't sleep and Nessie had a nightmare. Bella, you know I have insomnia! And Edward, you should know about Nessie's nightmares!" Jake defended angrily, while Nessie nodded along next to him tucked under his arms, as though he was protecting her, although from what I didn't know. I was also curious as to the cause of Nessie's nightmares, nightmares that immediately caused Edward's face to morph from one of anger into one of concern and shock. I wondered why that was; maybe he didn't realise that she still had nightmares.

"The first night was a coincidence. We met by the stairs; we just wandered around the ship talking and finding out about each other. We enjoyed it so much that we agreed to do it again, though we didn't actually meet up again until maybe a week later. After that it was almost a nightly thing." Nessie said in a soft voice, "We didn't do anything, Edward honestly, we just wanted to spend some time together."

"Awww!" The rest of the girls chorused together. They were so sweet together. You could tell that they were really into each other, even though they were only fifteen. I just wanted to gobble them right up!

"Right," Jasper said, bringing us back to the point in hand, "That makes things a lot more difficult. It is now very unlikely that we have been missed yet, although we've not been on the ship for more than twenty-four hours. It could be a long time yet, before we are noticed. Even when the others go on land, they only do a checklist of those who go off, so they know who's returned. They will assume that we won't have got off the ship. Sorry guys but it looks like we'll be here for a while."

"I have a question." Victoria spoke up. She looked uncharacteristically pale. "Do we know this is actually an island, or could it be a headland or a peninsula or something?" She sounded hopeful.

Jasper looked very serious as he answered, "It could be; we'll have to explore to find that out. But from where we were, it is most likely that we are on an island. Saying that, I did say earlier that we may have travelled a lot further than we thought, so don't lose hope."

Victoria still slumped in her seat. She looked depressed. I thought it must be hard for her. Everyone else was coupled up, or at least was interested in someone who was here. But her boyfriend James would be oblivious that she was even missing.

"What about our cell phones?" Rosalie asked, "Has anyone got signal?"

We all dug around in our pockets for our cells phones.

"Mine's dead; no battery," Edward reported.

"Soaking, so mine doesn't work either," Rosalie added.

"Mine too." I said.

"I didn't bring mine." Nessie said, looking sheepish, "I didn't think I'd need it."

"Me neither." Jake said.

"No signal for me," Tanya said, waving it around in the air, looking for something, "Not even emergency signal."

"Same." Jasper reported.

No one's phone worked and between those whose phone hadn't died we had four different operators, and there was nothing from any of them.

"Well there goes that rescue plan." Jasper remarked dryly, as though it was a foolproof plan in the first place.

"Is there anything more we can say about this?" Alice said, looking a little tired. I remembered that I was the only person who had slept for any length of time in twenty four hours and noticed that everyone was looking a bit jaded.

"Just that we should have the fire going as much as possible. Right now, we are all too tired to have a watch, but it might be an idea. It should be used to attract attention." I said, my days camping with my dad now coming in useful, "Green wood during the day for smoke and wood that is as dry as possible over night for light."

"Good idea," Jasper nodded, "Maybe we should designate someone to do that?"

"I'll do it!" Mike volunteered eagerly. When no one had any objections we crowned him the official fire watch, which made him inordinately happy.

"One final thing, and then we can go to sleep," Edward said, "Does anyone have anything that could be useful? Obviously there is Emmett's lighter, but anything else?"

"Oh, yeah! I've got my Dad's pen knife." Jake piped up, "Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but it may come in useful. It's got a mini saw and a knife!"

"Well, yes, that would be useful." Edward said shortly, taking it and putting it on the rock where the lighter was to be kept permanently. Rocks were quickly becoming our most useful tools.

After that everyone clambered under the shelter together. It was a little cramped, and I worried that Emmett might squash us or something, but Edward bravely lay next to him, with his sisters on the other side of him. From the lay out, it looked like this had happened before. I lay next to Rosalie who was by Alice; Jake, Mike, Jasper, Tanya and Victoria were on the other side. I was surprised that we all fit, but the boys had managed to do a good enough job to be able to squeeze us all in.

There was a long chorus of good nights, and bit of scuffling around as we all got comfortable with the little bit of blanket we had, but soon enough it was silent. I thought it would take me a while to get to sleep, but in fact it came quite quickly. I soon slipped into slumber-land. I didn't even take time to reflect on the absurdity of the situation, nor did I think that we should make the best of it. That was natural; that was survival.

* * *

**AN: Here we go! First time on the island. That's a bit exciting isn't it?**

**As always thanks to my beta for getting this done on time, despite her laptop being broken! Love you!**

**This is my last update before christmas, so Merry Christmas! Don't eat too much! **

**Please Review!**

**Layla xxx**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me; that privilege is Stephenie Meyer's!**

_Previously..._

_There was a long chorus of good nights, and bit of scuffling around as we all got comfortable with the little bit of blanket we had, and soon enough it was silent. I thought it would take me a while to get to sleep, but in fact, it came quite quickly. I soon slipped into slumber-land. I didn't even take time to reflect on the absurdity of the situation, nor did I think that we should make the best of it. That was natural; that was survival._

* * *

Chapter 9 – What Now?

When I woke up the next morning, I was very stiff. Apparently sand wasn't the comfiest bed to sleep on, although I guessed that it would be better than rock or something.

I was also wet. There had been another storm in the night, but it was nowhere near as big as the one in which we got lost in, if that's what you could call it. However it had been more than enough to rain on us and get us soaking. It turned out that despite the boys' best efforts of the day before; the shelter they had constructed wasn't exactly waterproof.

"Oh my god!" Tanya squealed, having woken up at around the same time as I did. In fact, I had been the first to wake which was very strange because as everyone had all figured by now that I wasn't exactly a morning person. But then I remembered that I had slept the day before when the others hadn't, so it was only natural that I would wake up first.

"What?" Edward said, sounding sleepy, yet worried at the same time.

"My hair is ruined; it's just ahhh!" She cried, and I rolled my eyes. _Seriously? Your hair?_

"Tanya, don't worry; everyone's hair is ruined. We have just slept on a beach and it got wet in the storm. It's no biggie." Edward soothed, but he sounded a little annoyed at her shallowness in such a serious situation.

"But it is a biggie for me, Edward. You know how important my appearance is to me," she whined, putting on a girly babyish voice.

"I know, Tanya, but right now I think there are slightly more important things to worry about. Like what we are going to eat this morning." He replied, still trying to sooth her, "And if you ask me, I think your mussed up hair is kind of sexy." He grinned at her.

"Really?" She asked sounding hopeful. He nodded his assent.

"But still, it's all knotty. I need to sort it out." She whinged. Apparently Edward's appreciation of her hair wasn't enough.

"Come on Tanya, how about you and I go and sort our hair out now? I think we should have some time to ourselves for a bit. Let the others wake up properly and make our breakfast."

I felt slightly annoyed at Victoria's suggestion that we should be the ones making breakfast and not our very own beauty queen, but by that point I was so ready to get Tanya out of my face and to stop her whining that I would have made her breakfast, lunch and dinner just so that she would leave.

"Ok then," Tanya sniffled. Yes, sniffled. Because she had a small case of bed hair. Lord knows what mine was like, but I wasn't making the fuss she was.

And in all this fuss, Emmett still hadn't woken up. I also knew that he had had probably the best night's sleep here, as I had listened to his snores for part of the night until I had stuffed my fingers into my ears and drifted off.

Rosalie slapped him and he still didn't wake up.

"Leave him." Alice said, looking at him with a dismissive glance, "He won't wake up unless he wants to."

"Fine, but he will probably miss out on breakfast then," Rose grumbled.

"Are you kidding?" Nessie laughed, "His sense of smell is stronger than anyone I know! If you even think about eating without him, he will be awake before you finish saying 'Breakfast's up'!"

Rose laughed too, "Breakfast isn't going to be that interesting anyway is it?" She asked, wrinkling her nose, "Just fried fruit?"

"Well unless you can catch a fish or want to eat bugs, then yep." I said grimly, stoking the fire with a stick as it had all but died overnight. I found a few embers in the heart of the fire, and using the copious amounts of dried leaves that Jake and Nessie willingly brought over from the edge of the forest, I managed to get it going again.

Once we'd finished breakfast, which Emmett had woken up to just as Nessie had predicted, and was fried fruit, as Rose had guessed, I decided to broach the subject which I had been mulling over.

"Guys, I think we should move camp closer to the stream that you found yesterday. Water is probably going to be our most valuable resource here, and right now, it takes too long to fetch it."

"Good idea," Alice agreed, "That also might be a good place to start our other explorations from. I mean, we aren't just going to live on the beach right? I get that there might be animals that could hurt us in the forest, but they may also come to the beach too. And besides, we need to find out if this is actually an island or not. If it is somewhere like Hawaii, then we could get home, and we'd feel pretty stupid if we had stayed here for days without realising it."

Everyone else also agreed with my idea and without further ado we broke camp, Mike stamping out the fire, as he was a bit annoyed that I'd been the one to stoke it earlier, and nearly burning his foot; we all set out to the stream. Once we got there, Edward, Jake and Emmett began to make a new shelter, trying to improve from before. It was still difficult, as we still had very little equipment, and still less know how, but they were managing to improvise something. I wandered a little way up the stream with Rose and Alice, looking to see if there was a place we could bathe in, as we were all feeling like we could do with freshening up. Shortly we came to a rock face, with a large waterfall, and therefore a deep plunge pool, which would be perfect for washing in.

We literally whooped with joy and dived right in. It felt so good washing and getting the sand out of our lady bits, despite the fact that we knew it would just end up back there in a very short amount of time.

As we had no soap or anything, the water was just a rinse so we were finished very quickly and walked back to the camp. I was very surprised when I arrived. The boys had constructed a much better shelter with larger logs; it looked good and a lot better constructed. It still wasn't perfect, as it seemed like it was only half built. The boys had found four large logs which they'd hammered into the sand and there were smaller sticks covering the roof which they'd then rested waterproof leaves on and they had set up a number of large logs around the fire pit for sitting on and presumably to help with the cooking.

"Where did you find the logs?" I asked in awe at their handiwork.

"In the forest," Jake replied, "We thought that if you were brave enough to go in there to shower we should man up a bit and look in there too. And it was a good thing we did; there are actually loads of fallen logs in there. The only hard bit was getting them back here."

"Wow," Rose said succinctly.

"Yeah, well, you know," Jake said blushing and rubbing the back of his neck as he ducked his head in embarrassment.

"Aw! Is Jakey embarrassed that a pretty girl like Rosalie is complimenting you on your work?" I teased him as soon as Rose was out of earshot.

"Is she pretty?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"What? How can you not think her pretty?" I asked confused.

"Um, I don't really see her. I don't really see any girls other than Nessie," he admitted, "Is that weird? It's just; I feel that Nessie is it. You know; the one. But it scares me too, because I'm only fifteen and so is she. Are we too young? Should we be too young?"

"Um, wow, I wasn't expecting that. Erm well I guess that if that's how you feel, then for you, Rose isn't pretty. And about thinking she is the one at this age; who knows if you are too young or not. Only you can say that. If you're scared, maybe you should talk to her about it. See how she feels?" I suggested, a little taken aback by his outpouring, but I also felt strangely privileged to be privy to this information and to be the person that he came too. I felt like a sister giving advice to her little brother and I really liked it. Even if my advice wasn't great.

"Jasper?" Alice said flirtatiously, sitting down next to him, where he was intently whittling a stick. He was making a point on one of the ends and I looked at it intrigued.

"Mmm?" He said, distractedly.

"What are you doing?" She asked, proving my suspicions as to what she was doing correct.

"What?" He asked, still focused on his work, "Oh right, I'm trying to make a spear type thing. We don't have much to do so I thought I'd try fishing with it," he explained.

"You'd be good at that," I butted in, unashamed at my eavesdropping, "You have the patience for it."

"That's what I thought. Dad always said that I was a really patient, quiet, calm kid, so I thought I should maybe use those abilities today. There, it's done!" He held up the new spear and I prayed as he did so that he would be able to catch some fish with it, as I was already getting bored with fruit.

"Let's go and try it out!" Alice cried excitedly.

"Alice, you do know that for spear fishing, you have to be really calm and quiet for long periods of time so the fish overcome their fear and come close enough for you to strike?" Jasper asked, amused. Alice pouted at him and the implication that she couldn't do it.

"I'll have you know I can be calm if I want. I just don't normally want." She declared and smiled when Jasper consented to let her come and watch him while he fished.

"Yay!" She squealed in excitement, "I'll just go and change..." She trailed off at the sudden thought that she had nothing to change into. Right now she was just wearing her bikini, as we all were, having dumped her clothes. We were all in as little as possible, because it was very hot, and anyway our clothes were starting to smell as well as being caked in salt from being sprayed in the first storm.

The boys were all in their boxers, except for Mike who turned out to be a tighty-whitey's guy, and was firmly sticking to his shorts because of that. However as they were all incredibly fit people (I noticed Edward was in particular) it was quite distracting.

"I have no clothes!" Alice cried in dismay, "Oh my god, Bella, I have nothing to wear. I actually have nothing to wear!" She wailed, "What am I going to do?"

"Wear nothing?" I suggested, at a loss. I didn't know. I would have been perfectly happy staying in my bikini and maybe the clothes I came in for as long as they still looked like clothes, but I understood that for fashion conscious Alice, that was a big no-no.

"Ew! Bella!" She said, looking at me in disbelief.

"What?" I said, faux-innocently, "If you have nothing to wear, you can't wear it. However, you're resourceful. Find a fig leaf or something." Ok, so I wasn't being the most supporting friend, but Alice knew better than that from me.

But suddenly her face lit up, "Oh my gosh; Bella you're right! I can design clothes! They'll be made from leaves and stuff but it'll be better than nothing! You're amazing Bella!" She rushed off, presumably to get leaves. I stared after her, nonplussed at her enthusiasm. I still wasn't quite sure how she would design these island clothes or make them, but I guessed that she would find a way. Like I'd said, she was resourceful.

"Right," Rose said, soon after, as I was cleaning up the area that we would soon be living in permanently, sweeping it of leaves and such forth, "I think I will go and look for lunch. Care to join me Bella?"

"Actually, Rose, if you don't mind I'd quite like to keep cleaning up here. There is, if you look had enough, quite a lot of work to do here. Maybe Emmett would like to join you instead?"

At the look on both of their face, I had just made their day, and as they went off Emmett whispered something into Rosalie's ear and she giggled. Yes, Rosalie Hale; aloof, distant Rosalie who found it hard to make friends giggled. Emmett was a seriously lucky guy, and he seemed to be treating her right too, if he could make her giggle like that.

Edward meanwhile was still tinkering with things in the shelter; straightening the roof and adding more leaves and palm fronds and whatever else it was made of. Every so often he would look over to where Tanya and Victoria were sunbathing, with an exasperated expression on his face. I felt exactly the same. Everyone was working in some way to improve what we had; no matter how little it was, while they lay around doing nothing. Granted, there was very little for them to do, but the point was that if they looked hard enough there would be something for them to do to help us.

"Here you go Bella," Jake said grunting slightly, as he dumped a load of logs on the floor, "More firewood."

"Jake, does the firewood live there?" I asked, overly aware that I sounded a bit like my mother at that point, as that was the kind of thing she used to say to me.

Jake noticed the likeness too. Grinning at me he said, "Sorry Renee, I'll just move it to where it does live. Which is...?"

"Well," I said, thinking, as I hadn't actually decided where to put the wood yet, "Lay it down, stacking it up so that it makes a kind of wall on the forest side. We may have to change it if it turns out that the prevailing wind comes from another direction, but right now that seems to be the best place, as that appears to be what we are all scared of."

"Cool," Jake replied, starting to stack it up there, "Do you reckon we'll need any more?"

"Um, best to be on the safe side, right? I'd say it's better to have too much than not enough. But if you don't want to go back in the forest, you don't have to get any more."

"Nah, it's cool. I don't mind it in there. It feels a bit like home. You know; all green and wet. The only difference is that it's a bit hotter." I laughed at his comparison and when he left I went to the stream with everyone's clothes and started to attempt to get the salt out of them. I had tried to think of some way to save it, as it could be useful for seasoning the food, but I couldn't see any realistic way of doing that; besides some of the salt could have been from people's sweat which was just disgusting. Shortly after, Nessie came to help me and we spent about an hour just having fun while washing. Paradoxical, maybe but that's just how it was.

"So, Nessie, you and Jake huh?" I asked. Normally I wasn't one to gossip but when it concerned my cousin, I wanted to know what was happening.

Nessie gave me a sidelong glance with her green eyes, exactly the same shade as Edward's and I was struck at how similar they were, again.

"I wouldn't have pegged you as someone to gossip, Bella." She said shrewdly, hitting the nail on the head.

"He's my cousin," I shrugged, "I'm interested in his welfare. I wouldn't be surprised if Edward had a similar conversation with Jake at some point."

"Although his would probably involve a whole lot more threatening to do painful things to Jake's private parts if he hurt me!" Nessie laughed.

"Yes, well, there is that." I agreed, "He does seem rather overprotective doesn't he?"

"It's 'cause we look so alike," Nessie explained, "Everyone else looks so different to the other. None of us resemble our parents at all. Genetics is a wonderful thing isn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean look at Jake and me. You could hardly tell we were related, even if it isn't directly."

"Exactly," she agreed.

"Anyway, back to the point," I said, not easily put off, "You and Jake. Spill."

She sighed, "Well, I think he likes me. I mean I really like him. He's soo gorgeous and really fit. And he's so generous and kind and everything. I think he might be the one. I can't imagine being with anyone else in any case."

"Apart from the fact that everyone except Mike is already coupled up here?" I teased gently.

"Yeah, there's that!" She laughed, "But I don't know. It feels like we are a bit young. I mean we haven't actually done anything yet."

"Well that's a relief," I remarked dryly.

"Yeah, well, we want to take it slowly and get to know each other better. And it doesn't help that Edward finds every opportunity he can to break us apart if we even just kiss. I thought he would have a coronary last night, when he heard about what we were doing at night."

"Filthy hypocrite."

"Quite," she smiled, "But still, I get it. I mean we are only fifteen. Jake will be sixteen in a few months and my birthday is in August, but is it still too soon?"

"Only you can decide that," I said, wishing that they'd ask someone other than me. I guess I started it both times, but I wasn't exactly the best at relationships to be honest. I hadn't had any of note and Nessie herself had done more with my cousin than I had ever done with any boy. I wasn't going to tell anyone unless it was forced out of me but I hadn't yet had my first kiss. I wasn't gagging for it, but it did make me feel a bit inadequate when Nessie was talking about it.

"But I will say this," I continued, "You guys need to talk about it. Tell each other how you really feel. Tell Jake what you have said to me and take it from there. For what it's worth, I think you guys are really sweet together. It's like you're made for each other. So ignore everything that Edward has said and will say, and do what you feel is right. Besides, as I've already said, Edward is a hypocrite, which makes everything he says and does null and void."

"Thanks Bella. You really know you're stuff." Nessie said, and from there the conversation turned to less serious things that didn't involve feelings or any other awkward things.

* * *

**AN: Aw; Bella's giving love advice! Jake/Bella and Nessie/Bella bonding time! Sweet!**

**Many thanks again to my beta, although she has been very busy at the moment!**

**Please review!**

**Love Lx**


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just own the plot.**

_Previously..._

"_But I will say this," I continued, "You guys need to talk about it. Tell each other how you really feel. Tell Jake what you have said to me, and take it from there. For what it's worth, I think you guys are really sweet together. It's like you're made for each other. So ignore everything that Edward has said, and will say and do what you feel is right. Besides, as I've already said, Edward is a hypocrite, which makes everything he says and does null and void."_

"_Thanks Bella. You really know you're stuff." Nessie said, and from there the conversation turned to less serious things that didn't involve feelings or any other awkward things._

Chapter 10 – Adapting to the New Life

When we had finished doing the washing, which had taken longer than I thought it would, it was very nearly lunch time. However, Rose and Emmett hadn't come back yet and Jasper hadn't had any luck yet. I don't think it helped that Alice had set up her 'workshop' very close to him and was chattering away nineteen to the dozen therefore ruining his focus. She clapped every time he lunged which admittedly, he didn't do very often as it scared the fish away; regardless of whether he had caught anything or not.

I pottered around the fire, rearranging things and generally just sorted things out. While doing that I heard a loud shout of excitement and although it was just Alice again, I wondered why it was so loud. I turned and saw Jasper holding up his spear triumphantly with a fish on the end of it. He pulled it off carefully, trying not to disfigure it, and I ran over to get it.

"Well done Jazzy!" Alice squealed, as I took the fish, holding it gingerly, and hoping that no blood would come out of it.

"Thanks," he grinned, clearly very proud of his achievement.

"Yeah, good job Jasper; I was already getting bored of fruit!" I said fervently.

I carried the fish carefully over to where Edward was standing, close to the fire.

"Um, Edward, I don't suppose you know how to gut a fish, do you?" I asked, dreading a negative answer.

"Yes; I used to enjoy a bit of fishing with my Dad, before piano and life in general took over. It was a real treat for us to have freshly caught fish for dinner, so as it happens, I can de-scale and gut a fish; apparently it wasn't a true catch by me, unless I prepared it as a meal too."

"Yeah, well Charlie thought it was a necessary skill, the ability to gut a fish, but I never enjoyed it. All that blood!" I grimaced and felt a little sick at the mention of blood.

"You'd never make a doctor then," Edward joked, taking the fish off me and carrying it to the stream, where he cleaned it.

"God, no! I'd prefer to do something more along the lines of English. I always thought the idea of being a teacher wasn't a bad one."

"Well you do love the classics," he commented absently, now focused on the fish. I wondered again, how we could get salt, because a little seasoning on the fish would be really tasty, and it would help us conserve meats, if there were anything useful on the island.

Suddenly I had an idea. I picked up an empty coconut shell from our meal this morning. We still hadn't worked out how to save the milk, but it would be easier to try and drill a hole in it now that we could use Billy Black's pen knife. I peeled off all the remaining flesh from it and put it on a flat stone in the fire to fry it slightly and told Mike, who was taking his job as fire guard very seriously, to take it off as soon as it had gone brown. I then took the coconut shell down to the sea, where I filled it with water. When I got back, I set it up near the fire so that the heat would evaporate the water and hopefully leave just salt left.

Pleased with this, I sat back on a piece of driftwood and looked around. I noticed Rosalie and Emmett coming out of the forest, Rose's hair distinctly more dishevelled than when she had gone in. I smothered a smile. My flirting ban hadn't slowed their relationship down then.

"Hey!" I called, raising an arm in greeting and everyone scattered on the beach looked up.

"Lunchtime!" Emmett boomed and we all rushed to the fire, where Edward put the freshly gutted fish while Mike took the coconut off and passed it around for everyone to have a bite.

Emmett and Rose's arms were full of different fruits, including more bananas, mangos, oranges and papaya.

"Guys, if you had brought this earlier, I could have made a fruit salad," I reproached them half-heartedly. I couldn't really fault them, for they had still brought us a variety.

They shared them around and as we ate, I was struck with a rather horrifying idea.

"Guys, do you realise the properties fruit have?"

"They're really good for you?" Alice suggested looking slightly confused at my question.

"Five-a-day?" Jake added.

"Yeah, but they also help with your digestive system." I hinted, wishing they'd understand. Everyone looked blank.

"Fruit helps keep everything moving..." I continued, blushing now.

Realisation hit Rosalie like a ton of bricks. "Oh my god; we're going to get diarrhoea!" She cried, bluntly. I turned scarlet at the word, but that had been basically what I'd been hinting at.

"Ew!" Tanya squealed and for once, no one was annoyed at her squeamishness, for we were all having a similar reaction to the thought. Our hygiene was hardy the best it could be now; we didn't need anything more to help upset the balance. Besides, we had work to do; running into the cover of the trees every few minutes would only slow us down.

"Well," Jacob said, appearing to put on a brave face, "We'll just have to deal with that when it comes to it."

"We can try to stop it a bit." Rose added.

"Why?" Alice asked curiously.

"Well, when we were foraging for the fruit we saw some birds. They didn't seem able to fly and even if they could they prefer to stay on the ground. I think they were wild fowl or something. Maybe we could design some kind of trap for them?" Rosalie explained.

Despite this, which cheered us up a lot at the prospect of more meat, we all kind of lost our appetite, so a lot of the fruit was left over. The fish, which was divided between us with a slightly larger piece going to Jasper for catching it, disappeared very quickly. There was actually so much food left that we decided that in the afternoon we would have some time off trying to survive, because there wasn't much more that we could do at that point.

"Let's make an enormous sandcastle!" Emmett boomed.

Everyone looked at Emmett incredulously. We'd all had a thought about trying to sleep a bit more under the sun, as it had been a restless night's sleep and we'd all been working harder than we had expected to. The boys had been carting huge amounts of wood around, and the girls hadn't exactly been sitting around doing nothing either.

"Alright," I agreed with a sigh, deciding that if we pandered to Emmett's request, we might get some peace later. Then all the others joined as well, except for Tanya and Victoria, so that there were too many people for one sandcastle. It ended in a sandcastle competition; who could build the biggest and the best. The teams became; me, Emmett, Jake, Alice and Edward versus Rosalie, Nessie, Mike and Jasper.

We had to do it quite close to the water, as that was where the best sand was, as it was wet and sticky; so the first order for us was to build up the castle defences and dig in a moat. While Edward, Alice and I did this, Jake and Emmett began designing the main castle and building up the lower fortifications. I was happy to leave them to it, as I had no architectural ability and besides Edward and I were working in close proximity and our hands kept touching. Every time they did so, I felt a spark of electricity run through me, igniting at his touch.

But, of course, this couldn't last.

"Eddie!" Tanya called, from further up the beach where she was lying.

Edward sighed in annoyance but turned to look at her, "Yes, Tanya?"

"Could you rub sun lotion in my back?" Yes, she had managed to bring sun lotion with her, but of course she wouldn't let anyone else use it, because 'their skin isn't as sensitive as mine', but already Mike's shoulders and back were already going quite pink. Tanya's body however was still alabaster and really didn't need any more sun-cream.

I desperately wanted to tell him that it was just a ploy to get his attention and distract him from his work, as that much was obvious to every single other person, who was studiously getting on with their work, but I couldn't. I tried to be a good friend and left him to it, but I was plagued with doubts. Was I trying too hard not to make Tanya an issue? Was I therefore still making her an issue?

Edward went off, but was back quicker than I expected.

"Super-speed rubbing, huh?" I joked.

"She didn't need it," he grumbled, "Just wanted attention."

"I could have told you that," I muttered, unable to keep it to myself.

"Then, why didn't you?" he said.

"You weren't meant to hear that."

"Well, I didn't you tell me that she just wanted attention?"

"Because I promised not to make an issue of it." I whispered, ashamed now.

"Yes, you did, but you could still tell me something like that. I get it if you see something like that; what I meant before was that it's just always bringing her up when we're together."

"Oh, right."

But very soon later…

"Eddie!"

"What now, Tanya?"

"My lips are getting sore!"

I looked at Edward and he glanced at me.

"Don't go; let her not be the centre of your world for a bit." I said.

"No, I have to," he replied, "But I'll be back soon."

I rolled my eyes, and watched him walk over to her.

"He's too gentlemanly for his own good," Alice commented, also watching him.

"Oh, I know," I said emphatically.

"You're good for him, you know. He's starting to see how annoying she really is."

"That's not me," I said, blushing, "That's the fact that he is stuck on this godforsaken island with her and there is no escape."

"Yeah! Sure! Whatever!" Alice said, in a sing-song, knowing voice.

"Shut up and get on with digging," I grumbled, my cheeks now scarlet.

Alice chuckled, but complied, and got on with her work, as did I.

Edward came back very quickly, muttering something about wasting his time, and seriously, was she really that self-centred.

"I have a theory," I announced.

"Oh, yes?" he said, a wry smile gracing his features, "And what's that?"

"Tanya," I said grandly, "Is secretly working for the other team. They have bribed her and now she is sabotaging us. She keeps distracting one of our key members with pointless interruptions."

"You know," Emmett said, looking serious, "I think you might be right. Edward, for the sake of this competition and the reputation of the team, please refrain from being distracted again by your girlfriend."

"But, of course," Edward replied, smirking crookedly, playing along, "I'm surprised that I didn't see this plot myself. Well spotted Bella."

I grinned and after that Edward pretended not to hear all Tanya's call and pleas. He knew that she wasn't really on the other team, but it meant that he could have an excuse when she reprimanded him for ignoring her later on in the day.

We quickly got on with our castle and it very quickly became aware that the other team were beating us, despite us having the numerical advantage. Emmett turned out to be more of a hindrance than a help, because he just got way too excited about the whole thing and in my clumsiness, I kept breaking the walls, or knocking over one of the towers. I very nearly fell on top of the castle itself, meaning that I would have squished it, if Jake hadn't caught me. I was momentarily disappointed that it hadn't been Edward to be my saviour, but then I scolded myself for having such thoughts when his girlfriend was less than fifty metres away.

By about mid-afternoon, we had finished our castles and before we could get into an argument as to whose was better (as Rosalie turned out be just as competitive as Jake, if not more so and they were about to bite each other's head off) Edward enlisted Victoria and Tanya to declare the winner. This didn't actually help, as Tanya obviously chose ours, but Victoria languidly pointed a finger at the other. She was right, but when the judges weren't in agreement, we made it a tie and Rose went into a sulk.

It only lasted for about five minutes though, as we then buried Emmett in the sand up to his head, and she was very eager to help with that.

It was incredible fun trying to bury him; more than I expected, because after a while of helping us do so, Emmett's attention span ran out and he decided he was bored with being buried. The problem for him was that we'd poured a whole lot of sand over him already and it was almost too heavy for him to get out. All that he did was create huge cracks in the wet sand and make the dry sand fall off him, but as there were eight of us burying him and only one of him trying to get out; we had the advantage so he couldn't get out. We buried him so much that eventually he could only move his head. When he complained about this, Rosalie peppered his face in kisses and all his complaints stopped immediately. He acquired a goofy, love-struck expression on his face, which Jasper and Jake immediately leapt upon, teasing him mercilessly. It didn't matter that they were pretty much in the same situation; they hadn't displayed their emotions all over their faces. However they stopped pretty quickly, after Rosalie shot them furious looks.

As much as the majority of us wanted to leave Emmett in the sand, he persuaded us to dig him up before we went swimming as apparently he was great fun in the water. I was sceptical about this but then, with both his and Rose's puppy-dog looks combined, we all caved and uncovered him.

He whooped with joy and charged into the water, submerging himself as much as possible; we all chased him in, after giving him a few moments privacy. We were all learning how quickly sand got everywhere and we wouldn't have appreciated being buried ourselves.

As it turned out, Emmett was great in the water; he was fast and he enjoyed ducking people more than anything else in the world. However, once we'd all been ducked about five times each and hadn't managed to catch him once, since he really was a quick swimmer, we grew bored; so we played a game where the girls sat on the boys shoulders and then wrestled other the other girls, trying to knock them off. It was great fun but also way too arousing for teenagers, especially when I got to sit on Edward's sculpted shoulders. Mike had had to back out of this, much to his displeasure, as he had wanted to be my carrier, due to his sunburn which had worsened since this morning. I also got a huge adrenaline rush when we dislodged Rosalie from Emmett's back, as they had proved to be the best competitors so far.

Luckily, we didn't stay on the same person's shoulders for the entire game because if we had I might have melted into a puddle of goo. The electricity that had been there during the sandcastle-building had not diminished at all, but seemed to have become more potent. So I was relieved when I slid off Edward's wet body and instead clambered onto Jasper's shoulders.

Actually, this wasn't as good an idea as it had first seemed because now I could take in all of Edward's beauty as I faced him with Rosalie perched on his shoulders, the desire for revenge burning in her eyes. I gulped when I saw this, finally tearing my eyes away from Edward's chest, as with Edward's body doing it's very best to distract me and Rosalie determined to dump me head first into the water, I didn't feel that Jasper and I stood a very good chance.

I was right. Almost as soon as we connected, Rosalie grasped my upper arms in a death grip and twisted; I immediately felt myself falling off Jasper. I retained enough sense when I fell to draw in a breath, a plan quickly hitting me as hard as the water as I plunged into the sea. I twisted my body around until I found Edward's legs and holding them tight, did a rugby-tackle type manoeuvre barging his legs from underneath him, so that he fell and landed on top of me. We surfaced in almost exactly the same place and laughing, I saw indignation in his green eyes.

He yelled, "Cheat! Ref, she is cheating!"

"Edward, darling," I said in a posh English accent, "Where exactly in the rules does it say that I cannot duck you? You still won by default, as I was not on Jasper's shoulders when I did this, but I don't recall that you cannot duck the opponent at any point."

"Huh," he huffed, "You still cheated." He pouted and I couldn't help but laugh at the petulant look on his face.

"Stop acting like a pansy," Rose snapped, "We've still got to take on Emmett and Alice."

"You're going down suckers!" Emmett yelled, as Rose scrambled back onto Edward, looking the least graceful I'd ever seen her. He and Alice were quite a contrast, as she perched on his massive shoulders, looking as though she would be more comfortable on just one shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" Rose sneered looking even more menacing than when she was facing me. She really was very competitive and I guessed that she really wanted to be victorious over Emmett.

Alice however, was braver than I was and put up more resistance than I did. They grappled for at least five minutes and the boys tried to knock each other over as well but still nothing happened. By this point I was back on Jasper's back.

"Wow," he breathed, "That is so hot!"

"What? Alice?"

"Mm, hmm," he murmured, transfixed by her.

"She really likes you, you know. That first night, she told me she thought you were the one. You had only just met. I had only just met her. You really are special to her." I told him softly.

"Yeah, she's incredible."

I looked down and Jasper had a similar expression on his face to the one Emmett had had earlier.

"You might want to wipe that goofy look off your face, before someone sees," I said, "But don't worry; I won't tell anyone. It can be our little secret."

"Oops," he grinned.

"Anyway, I think this had gone on far too long, shall we go and break it up?"

"Sure thing darlin'," he drawled and surged forward. It didn't take long to knock both girls off, as they weren't expecting us to attack, and after that it turned into a free-for-all with Emmett trying to climb onto my shoulders, yelling;

"Come on, sis, let's batter these losers!"

Except that he nearly drowned me, as I could definitely not handle his huge bulk, and crumpled under him.

The sun was just starting to set when we finally left the water, wrinkled like prunes, and breathless. I half hoped that Tanya and Victoria would have got their act together and might have cooked us some food or something, but instead they were still lying on the beach listening to Tanya's iPod, which, miraculously, still had some battery left in it.

I sighed, and went up to the fire, which Mike had stoked up; apparently he had got bored very quickly with the girls' inane chatter and so had collected more wood and to my surprise, tried to cook. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good and so there were a few blackened remains of food on the frying rock and a guilty expression on his face. I took over before he could cause any more damage and quickly served up fried coconut, with a bit of salt, as my experiment had worked out better than I expected. There had still been some water in the bottom of the coconut but I had managed to scrape some salt off the side and I could see that there would be more in the bottom, when the rest of the water had evaporated.

Everyone noted the difference in the taste of the coconuts, caused by the added salt, and it was certainly better tasting than it had been before. However, we were getting tired of fried food so we decided in the morning just to have raw fruit.

I was feeling contented and pleasantly full, sitting by the campfire, after we had eaten; my eyelids were starting to droop when Tanya said something to cause them to open again in dismay.

"Let's tell each other a bit more about ourselves. I mean, if we are going to be stuck here, we should know about each other. It's only fair. Bella?" She continued, in a sickly sweet voice, "Do you want to start?"

* * *

**AN: Aw, fun and games on the beach, and we are nearly at the completion of their first full day on the island. After this, I promise things will speed up a bit. **

** Many thanks, as always, to my beta, who was very prompt this time ;)**

** Also, I forgot to mention last chapter (very sorry) that it was one of my reviewers, Teacher Sue, who made me think about Alice and island clothing, so thank you very much to her! Her desgns will be revealed very soon.**

** Please review!**

** Layla x**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Twilight, just a copy of each book!**

_Previously..._

_I was feeling contented and pleasantly full, sitting by the campfire, after we had eaten, and my eyelids were starting to droop, when Tanya said something to cause them to open again in dismay._

"_Let's tell each other a bit more about ourselves. I mean, if we are going to be stuck here, we should know about each other. It's only fair. Bella?" she continued, in a sickly sweet voice, "Do you want to start?"_

* * *

Chapter 11 – Around the Campfire

"Um, what?" I said, my mouth dry. It wasn't that I had any secrets that I wanted to hide; nothing much had happened in my life that was worth knowing about. It was more that she had figured out that I hated any kind of limelight and she had just thrust me straight into it.

"You heard. Tell us about yourself." She smiled sweetly.

"There isn't much to say that you don't already know," I mumbled, "I'm seventeen nearly eighteen, an only child, but Jake is my cousin on my Mum's side, and I was on the cruise because my parents are divorcing and it's getting ugly. They don't want me there. I didn't want to make proceedings harder, so I signed up for this."

"Aw, come on, there has to be more to you than that!" Tanya said playfully.

"Nope. I'm really a very boring person."

"Now that, I don't believe." Edward piped up. I turned to him and he was gazing at me intensely.

"Well, it's true. My favourite hobby is reading books and I don't do any other extra-curricular activity. The only other thing I'm good at is cooking 'cause my parents are rubbish in the kitchen, so I learned at a young age to fend for myself."

"And you can sing," Alice added, looking at me proudly, as though she had been my singing teacher.

"Yes, don't think we had forgotten that," Rosalie smirked, "I, for one, will be asking for a repeat performance very soon."

I blushed; I wished that we hadn't done the karaoke, as it had just shown me that Edward and I could be a good couple, if the fates hadn't intervened, and made him god-like but given him a girlfriend, who could easily be a model, while leaving me hopelessly mundane in every way.

"I'm looking forward to it," Edward said, a smirk playing about his face.

"Eddie, do you have to? With her I mean? Will you do it with me instead? I just know that our voices would complement each other perfectly." Tanya grabbed his arm and batted her eyelashes seductively.

"Well, Tanya," he said, resting his hand on hers, in what at first seemed to be romantic gesture, but on closer inspection showed that he was trying to peel her hand off but she was resisting, "It's kind of mine and Bella's thing now. We have other things that just we do together. But could you let Bella and I have this thing to ourselves too?"

"Ok, Eddie, I guess that you can have some things with your friends, right? Like football with Garrett." She said, putting emphasis on the word 'friends'.

I felt my heart dropping. Was that all he considered us to be? Had he not felt the electricity coursing through us earlier that day?

"Exactly. Like you shopping with Irina and Kate." He agreed and his feelings were confirmed. He only ever liked me as a friend.

"Anyway, how about we learn something from Jake now? Keep it in the family." She giggled.

"Not much to say either," he said, grinning. Unlike me Jake had no problem with talking about himself or attention. In fact he quite liked it. "I'm fifteen. I live in La Push, a small reservation near to Forks and I'm descended from a very long line of Quileutes. My Dad claims that he can trace our ancestry to Taha Aki, the first elder of our tribe, but he always did love the fairy tales. I have two sisters, who I love dearly, but am also honestly quite glad that they have left home. There wasn't enough space in the house for both of us. Bella has been my best friend since we made mud pies in our backyard, aged five and as naked as the day we were born. And Nessie is my first ever girlfriend; something which I am very proud of." He finished.

Tanya opened her mouth to speak and I had the strangest feeling that she was going to say something degrading to me, but luckily Edward got in first.

"How come you were friends with Jake and not your other cousins, Bella?"

I shrugged, "We were the closest in age. And I didn't really like Rachel or Rebecca much. They were too girly for me; I was always a bit of a tomboy."

"Bella," Tanya said, before anyone else could get a word in, and I braced myself for whatever was coming, "You never told us how many, if any boyfriends you've had. Come on, spill!"

"None," I mumbled, blushing again, "No one ever liked me."

"Aw, come off it Bells!" Jake cried, "I'm sure there were loads of guys after you. You were just too shy to let them in."

"Jake, you don't know that. You went to the Rez school and I was at Forks High. There was no one who liked me. The only people who I was friends with were Angela and Ben and they were a couple. I became really good at being the third wheel."

"But there must have been someone you liked?" Alice asked, looking at me curiously.

"No, not really," I replied, blushing deeper. Well, there was one person now, but there was no way I was going to admit that. I would rather die than tell Edward, when he was so clearly still in love with Tanya.

"Well, that's boring." Rosalie remarked.

"Glad to see you find me so interesting!" I said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean that," she said coolly, "Just that your love life is boring."

"Not all people have an interesting love life with a fling every other week," Edward said calmly, not sounding accusing at all, "Mine and Tanya's hasn't exactly been the town's gossip. We're way too steady for that, aren't we Tan?"

"Of course, Eddie. Most people thought we were boring in our relationship, because there was never any likelihood that we would break up."

Her words were like rubbing salt into a wound. This evening was turning out to be way worse than I had anticipated. I wished that they would just move on quickly.

"How about me now?" Nessie asked, saving me, "Basically, I'm fifteen only just though and I live in Chicago with my large, yet slightly dysfunctional family-"

"Hey!" Emmett cried indignantly, as though she was personally insulting him, "We are not dysfunctional!"

"We are Emmett and you know it!" Alice chipped in, "Now shut up and don't interrupt."

"I only interrupted once. Everyone else is doing it too!" He defended, then looked confused as we all burst out laughing at what he said, "I didn't mean that! I meant that everyone else was interrupting people too! You guys have really dirty minds!" He accused, which we all laughed at even more, as he spent half his life deliberately turning everything we said into some form of innuendo.

"Anyway," Nessie continued, when she had finally stopped crying with laughter, "I live in Chicago with my dysfunctional family, who all get on way too well for a family, my Dad is a doctor and my real name is Renesmee which I hate, since it is such a stupid name. I don't know what Mom and Dad were thinking when they named me because I don't know why I have such a stupid name when everyone else has normal if slightly old fashioned names."

"Luckily for her, Emmett quickly shortened her name to Nessie which stuck as Renesmee is a bit of a mouthful, in any case." Edward added.

"Yeah and Nessie can be taken as short for Vanessa, which I sometimes say is my name, though not in front of Mom and Dad because they would be really upset that I feel the need to hide my name. So yeah, that's me. Oh yeah and I like to play the piano. Edward teaches me, when he has the time."

I looked at Edward, impressed, "You teach piano?"

"When I can, although it's not often because of baseball. But yeah, when I did grade eight like five years ago I wanted to help other people feel the joy I do, so I decided to teach people informally."

"Wow," Rose said.

"I keep telling him that he should charge money for his teaching but then he says he needs some official document or something that says that he is qualified enough to teach. Stupid paperwork." Alice said, finishing with a grumble.

"But I don't mind, because I didn't start teaching to make money. Like I said, I want people to feel the joy and peace that I feel when I play, not to mention the sense of achievement I get when I master a difficult piece of music." Edward replied and his face shone with excitement. He really did look enthusiastic about his music.

"I guess that means we know about Edward then," Emmett said looking a bit bored. I felt a bit sorry for him; his short attention span meant that now that we had been through a few people he was no longer interested. It didn't help that he knew everything he needed to know about half the people present already; a problem of having such a large family.

"To be honest guys, I don't think this is the most fascinating evening we've ever had." I said, trying to help him, "Shall we do something else?"

"I think this is really interesting," Tanya said sulkily, giving me a death glare and I remembered that she was the one who had suggested we do this.

"Tanya, no offence intended, but a lot of people know quite a lot about the others already and most of this is what we have already learnt. We have been spending a lot of time together over the past few weeks and so there really isn't anything we haven't found out that isn't worth knowing." Rosalie said, "Besides, if we are really interested in someone else and their life before here we can ask them personally."

"That's right, Tanya. I know you were looking forward to this but the others want to do something else. Do you think you can do that?" Edward asked, soothingly.

"I guess," she pouted.

"That's my girl." he said and Tanya pursed her lips as though expecting a kiss, but all Edward did was squeeze her shoulders then remove his arm from where he'd placed to placate her. I could see that Tanya was disappointed by this rejection and she looked around quickly to make sure that no one had seen it. We all immediately pretended to be looking in different directions, as we knew how hard it could be to see something like that.

"Let's tell scary stories!" Emmett cried, perking up now that we weren't sharing life stories that he already knew.

"No!" Cried Alice, "Emmett last time you told a scary story Nessie wet her bed for the next month, and kept having nightmares about the monster Hoover!"

"Thanks, Alice!" Nessie said sarcastically, "I'm sure everyone wanted to hear that."

"What? It's true."

"Alice, maybe that wasn't the most tactical thing you could have said," I said, trying to keep the peace.

"Yeah," Edward agreed, "And besides, Nessie was like six. Mom banned them after that, because they were just too scary for a six year old. And eight year olds too if your coming into my bed every night for a week afterwards was anything to go by."

Alice flushed scarlet, "Yeah, well, the monster Hoover was scary." She muttered.

"Maybe when we were eight, but now we are seventeen. I think we might be able to handle it." Edward said, a small smile on his face at his triumph over his twin sister. I had a feeling that these triumphs were rare.

"I suppose," she said quietly, but I noticed that she pressed herself closer to Jasper who put a reassuring arm around her shoulders and whispered something into her ear, which seemed to calm her a little bit.

"I'll start!" Emmett boomed.

"Good idea," Rosalie agreed, a slightly sardonic note to her voice, "Scare everyone silly now and let the other stories calm us down before we go to sleep."

"It was a dark night, that night. The night that we went to the house. Our car had broken down and there were no other buildings in which we could shelter and, as there were four of us; me, Aro, Alec, and Marcus, there wasn't enough room for us all to sleep in the car, so when we found this place, we decided to stay there. What we didn't realise at the time was that the house was deserted. We didn't see a soul all night, except for each other. Once we had pulled up outside the house, we knocked on the door and it swung open almost immediately, but there was no one in there that we could see. However, we were hungry and we wanted to eat, so we had to go in. We went to the kitchen, to see if we could cook something up using our torches but there was no gas or electricity. We had to eat the sandwiches that we were going to have for lunch the next day as our dinner. But we ate them upstairs in the guest bedroom we decided to stay in. We were too afraid to have different rooms so, although it was uncomfortable, we all stayed in the same room.

"But when Aro's torch ran out of battery, we knew that we couldn't be stranded in the dark. Luckily I found some candles in the desk in the room which, using Alec's lighter; we lit so that we had more light. And we stayed like that all night. Or we would have if Alec, always the bravest of us, thought that the house wasn't as scary as we made it out to be. He took a candle and left the room 'to explore'.

"We waited all night for Alec to return, not sleeping a wink, for we had heard noises in the night. In fact, that had been why Alec had wanted to explore. I cannot describe these noises, they were too unearthly to describe properly but if I had to I would say that they reminded me of the groans of a dying man. But in the morning when he had not returned, we went looking for him, as we wanted to leave as soon as possible. We searched every room in the house and eventually we found him hiding in a cupboard in another of the spare bedrooms. He was as white as a sheet and had a look of pure terror on his face. I have never seen anyone look so terrified in my life. He had his right hand to his mouth and appeared to be chewing on the knuckles of his two middle fingers. It wasn't until we prised them away from his mouth that we realised that he had actually bitten them off. In his fright, his teeth had cut through the skin and the muscle and the bone and his fingers were completely gone.

"Alec was never the same after that and we slowly lost touch with him. However, the rest of us stayed in touch, although we never spoke of that night. But exactly a year after those events Marcus, who was a mechanic, was fixing a car engine when the cover fell down. He survived but his two middle fingers on his right hand were completely severed. He had suffered the same fate as Alec.

"Yet another year later, but again on the anniversary of that night, Aro was clearing out his garden with his brother who was wielding a chainsaw to chop down a large tree. Aro tapped his brother on the shoulder to get his attention; he swung around and missed Aro, just. He did however get Aro's hand and by a freak accident, Aro lost the two fingers; his middle and his ring finger on his right hand.

"When I heard that, I felt a surge of dread. I was now convinced that we were cursed. And the worst part? Today is the anniversary of those events and although I've nearly made it, I shall not rest easy until midnight has gone past. For it may seem that the curse is broken but there are still some hours left. I just hope that nothing happens..."

Then Emmett yelled out and stuck the two middle fingers of his right hand into his mouth. I jumped, as did nearly everyone else, and Alice let out a soft scream. We were all breathing heavily. Emmett really had told a very good story.

After congratulating Emmett on his story-telling prowess, Jacob then told the stories of his ancestors. These in themselves were rather spooky stories of Cold Ones, spirit walking and other supernatural happenings. Luckily however, for Nessie and Alice, it wasn't as bad as Emmett's story and thus meant that they calmed down a bit from it.

I listened to the stories that Billy had told countless times, gazing into the fire that Mike was keeping well stoked and reflected how Jake really was a very good story-teller, almost as good as his father was. He really made the stories come alive and I could see, as clearly as I had been able to when Billy had told them, the third wife sacrificing herself and the great Taha Aki transforming into a wolf.

I was transfixed, as always, and this effect was multiplied on everyone else, for whom the stories and legends were fresh. So when Jacob finished telling his stories, there were a few seconds of silence, with only the crackling of the fire to be heard.

"Wow," Nessie finally said, putting a small hand on Jake's shoulder, "That was really good."

"Yeah, you're a really good story-teller," Alice complimented him.

"Yeah, it was great!" Emmett boomed, "New story!"

"Bella?" Edward asked, "Do you know any horror stories or legends or anything?"

"Well, there is one, that I know," I said hesitantly.

"Let's hear it then!" Tanya said chirpily.

"Fine," I sighed, and thought for a few seconds about where I would start.

"It was a dark and stormy night, as it normally is for these sorts of stories. My car had broken down, and as it was already late and I was deep in the countryside, I decided to walk to the nearest town which I had estimated to only be a few miles away by my map. I set out, wishing that I had a few more layers of clothes as it was also a very cold night that night. I thought to myself as I went along that I would try and hitch a lift if I could, in order that I get out of the cold.

"And soon enough, a car came down the road. I tried to flag it down but unfortunately it barrelled past without waiting for me. But about half an hour later and nearly a mile closer to the nearest village, another car came along. I very nearly missed it, as it was travelling rather slowly and it had a very quiet engine. Also, its headlights were off, so I had very little warning of it coming. It stopped right next to me and without hesitation I jumped into the back of it.

"The car continued to travel incredibly slowly and I still couldn't hear the engine. When I looked into the front of the car, all I could see was a ghostly white hand. After three quarters of an hour of the most terrifying journey of my life, I finally arrived at the village. I climbed out of the car as quickly as I could and ran into the bar, outside of which it had stopped. I needed a strong drink to get over my fear.

"A few minutes later a man came into the bar and as I was afraid to leave while the ghost car was still outside, I asked him 'Excuse me sir, but is there a car parked outside. A Volvo?' When he affirmed that there was indeed still a car outside, he also inquired why I was interested.

"'I think there is something wrong with it" I confessed.

"'Of course there is!" he exclaimed, "I've been pushing it for the last hour!'"

When I finished my story, there was a moment's silence, then Rosalie broke out into big, distinctly un-feminine guffaws. Then everyone else caught onto the fact that it was actually a joke and they all burst out laughing with me, except Emmett, who pouted.

"That wasn't a scary story. Bella, you disappoint me!"

"Sorry Em," I grinned, "But I thought it would be a good way to end the night."

"It was," Edward agreed, "And now I'm going to bed. I've had enough scary stories for one night."

After that, everyone went to bed. Once again Edward sacrificed himself by sleeping next to Emmett and we all settled down to sleep.

I drifted off quite quickly, for once, as it had been a very busy day and I dreamed that once again I was on Edward's shoulders and we were champions.

* * *

**AN: Ooh, spooky ghost stories...or not. These are all stories that I've been told at some point in my life, including, believe it or not, the Monster Vacuum Cleaner. Many thanks to my friends, who told me these so well that they stuck in my memory to be told here. I only hope that they are as impressive for my readers as they were for me.**

**As always, thank you to my Beta, love you!**

**It's my 18th birthday tomorrow! Reviews would be an awesome present!**

**Lx**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Twilight World; it is all Stephenie Meyer's**

_Previously..._

"_It was," Edward agreed, "And now, I'm going to bed. I've had enough scary stories for one night."_

_After that everyone went to bed. Once again Edward sacrificed himself by sleeping next to Emmett, and we all settled down to sleep._

_I drifted off quite quickly, for once, as it had been a very busy day and I dreamed that once again I was on Edward's shoulders and we were champions._

Chapter 12 – Contingency Plans

I woke early the next morning and stretched lazily. I realised quickly that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the blinding sunlight that was shining seemingly right into my eyes. So I got up and made my way towards the fire, which had died down overnight. It was a few feet away from the main shelter, as we were already hot enough without it when we were sleeping, because of our proximity to each other. There were also rocks and logs spread around it now so that we could sit comfortably. From what we'd decided last night I didn't have any preparation, except finding food, to do for breakfast.

I sat by the fire, at a bit of a loss for something to do, until I heard light footsteps behind me and turned to see Alice approaching me.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" She asked, plopping down beside me.

"Too much light. I slept fine before the sun came up."

"We know," Alice giggled, "Some of us can't sleep while others are talking."

"Oh no!" My hands flew up to cover my mouth, "What did I say?"

"Guilty conscience much? Don't worry, it wasn't anything incriminating. You just complained about Emmett's fingers, then mumbled something about electricity and champions. Why, what did you think you said?"

"Um, well I dreamed about Edward again last night. That would actually be the electricity and champions thing. It's like there is a current between us, whenever we touch. Is that normal?"

"Jazz and I get that too." Alice reassured.

"Yes, it's the same for Emmett and me," Rosalie added, coming up behind us and making me jump slightly.

I looked at Nessie, who was just behind Rose, and raised an eyebrow.

"Yep," she replied, not needing to say anymore.

"Wonderful," I sighed, "Only for couples, huh? Do you reckon Edward gets it with Tanya?"

"Nope!" Alice said cheerfully, "I asked him not long after I met Jazz because, like you, I wanted to know if it was normal. Edward doesn't get a peep from her. Luckily Emmett overheard and told me about him and Rose."

"But don't worry, Bella, Edward will soon realise that you are head-over-heels for him. Heck, he is head-over-heels for you, even if he doesn't realise yet."

"He isn't!" I scoffed, "And neither am I!" I added defensively.

"Just keep telling yourself that!" Rosalie laughed, "Besides, if he isn't already, which he is," she said pointedly, ignoring my huff of disbelief, "He will be soon. Tanya and Victoria are getting on my last nerve. I swear, if she doesn't do anything to help us today, I might actually kill her. This isn't a vacation. For anyone." She finished, looking quite angry.

"I know, Rose," I soothed, "We all know, but sometimes its better that they don't hang around us. I think I would get more annoyed by them then."

"Victoria, surprisingly, isn't that bad. She's lazy, true, but she isn't vindictive towards Bella like Tanya is." Alice added, "I've never seen Tanya this nasty. It's strange."

"Is she that bad?" I asked quietly, "I thought I was imagining it."

"She's jealous, Bella. Everyone, well everyone except you and Edward it seems, can see how perfect for each other you are. Even Tanya. And she knows that she has a good thing going right now. She wants to hold onto to it, hard. I mean, that's what I would do, if Emmett looked like he was going to go after another girl."

"Same with Jake!" Nessie put in. She was being surprisingly quiet, but I supposed that she hadn't had as much experience as the others, so she was listening instead and trying to learn from them, "But, I don't think he would ever want another girl. We had that talk you suggested last night, Bella. You were right. He thinks that I am the one, like he is for me." Nessie was practically glowing at this thought.

"Oh, I know that Jasper is the one for me." Alice sighed, "I can see it in his eyes."

"He thought you were looking really hot in the water yesterday. He got that soppy look that Emmett had when Rosalie kissed him."

Alice giggled and Rose rolled her eyes.

"It's pretty impressive though, isn't it? That we can reduce those 'macho' boys to mush? Just us." Alice asked, looking a little smug.

"There's no 'just' about any of us," Rose said, "We are all vixens, hot ladies, who the boys are lucky to have. Even you Bella. That dopey look is their appreciation of us." She sounded so confident when she said this, that it was hard not to believe her, but I knew that I was definitely not 'a vixen' or at all 'hot'. My lack of a record showed that.

But then we all burst out laughing, at Rose's description of us, as it was a little far-fetched and a little old-fashioned of us to consider ourselves as such.

"Anyway," I said, drawing it out, once we'd finished laughing; I'd checked that we hadn't woken up the boys. "Let's just imagine that Edward is actually in denial about me, although I'm convinced that he isn't. How am I going to make him realise that he does hypothetically like me?"

"Ah-ha! She admits it!" Alice cried.

"I admit nothing. I am just giving you a challenge, as I have decided that at the present time it is fruitless trying to dissuade you that there is even a smidgeon of hope that anything could ever possibly happen between Edward and me."

"Pfft. Whatever!" She shrugged, "But, you're right. We do actually have to find a way of making Edward dearest realise he likes you!"

"And how are we going to do that?" Nessie asked sceptically, "The only person I've met who is more stubborn than Edward when it comes to admitting their feelings, or admitting anything in fact, is Bella."

"Exactly!" Alice beamed, "Bella has already half-admitted that she likes Edward. It's going to be a piece of cake to get him to admit he likes you."

"He's still a stubborn bitch though," Rosalie said, "I think you're underestimating your brother, Alice."

"Nah, he's my twin; I know him back to front. He's had feelings for Bella since he saved her on the first day when the ship set sail."

"So what exactly are you planning on doing then?" I asked slightly snappily, getting bored of how the conversation was starting to go around in circles.

Alice's face fell, "Well I haven't exactly got to that part yet," she admitted.

"You mean you haven't actually worked out a plan yet? What kind of conspirator are you?" Rosalie asked, sounding disbelieving. I agreed with her completely; what was the point of claiming that we needed a way of getting Edward to admit something, without actually coming up with a plan that would make him do so.

"I'm working on it okay?" Alice cried defensively, "But when I do have it, it's going to be fabulous! And foolproof!"

We lapsed into silence for a few seconds and then Emmett sauntered over.

"What'cha doing?"

It was then that I realised that we'd all been doing something while we'd been chatting, like some sort of survival instinct hadn't let us stop working. Alice had been sketching designs in the sand with a stick, Rose was constructing some form a animal trap (I assumed) with just sticks and slithers of leaves and vines as the string, and Nessie was attempting to weave a basket out of vines, although it wasn't going very well, as it kept falling apart. I myself had been chopping and preparing six coconut shells of a fruit salad of sorts. And I had barely even noticed; it just seemed so routine.

"Breakfast," I said and the surprise must have shown in my voice, because Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"You're 'doing' breakfast?" _Then again, maybe it didn't. Typical Emmett._

"Don't be so childish, Emmett!" Rosalie snapped and I think she would have slapped him if her hands hadn't been busy trying to hold three bits of her snare at once, while also trying to tie a bit of vine.

Luckily Alice was there to do it for her. She reached out and with a hand that seemed almost too dainty to thump him and she whacked him across the face with a sound like a gunshot, disproportionate to the area that had actually made contact.

"OW!" Emmett bellowed clapping his own hand to his flaming cheek and seemingly making it worse, as he pulled it away quickly again, looking at it with an injured air.

I sighed internally; if the slap hadn't woken the others up, then Emmett's yells certainly would have. And honestly, I preferred Tanya asleep, as it meant that she wasn't trying to monopolise Edward's attentions. Then I groaned silently. I couldn't deny myself any longer. I really did truly like Edward far more than I should, although I couldn't call it love yet. I was definitely not in love. However, I was becoming dangerously obsessive.

I was also not going to tell anyone about this realisation. Even if I could admit to myself how much Edward meant to me, I wasn't going to tell anyone else. I still had my pride and my stubbornness at least. And the smugness of Alice, Rosalie and even Nessie would be horrific.

"Thanks Alice!" Rose smirked, half-glaring at Emmett.

"Hey! I did not deserve that!" Emmett cried indignantly, "I didn't say anything rude. You are the ones with the dirty minds!"

"Yes, but you implied it Emmett and when there is an implication it means that you were thinking it too and our minds cannot help but jumping to a sordid conclusion. Thus, the fault is yours." Nessie put in calmly, putting her basket down in defeat it. As soon as her hands left it, it fell to pieces.

"Anyway, before you decided to be so immature, I was going to say that I am trying to make a trap to catch the wildfowl that we saw yesterday. As I said at lunchtime, I think a bit of meat, i.e. protein would do us good. And it might stop us getting the squits."

"You're making a trap?" Jake asked, coming over with his arms laden with wood, Edward close behind, "Let's see."

I looked around for Jasper, noticing that it was only Tanya and Victoria left in the sleeping shelter, and wondering where he was. But I quickly saw him down in the sea, ankle deep in water, already poised in his fishing stance.

"Um, I'd rather not," Rose said, a little threateningly and a little hesitantly.

"Come on Rose, Jake is really good with mechanical stuff. He used to fix cars up all the time at home. And he was really good at hunting wildlife without a gun. I think you should trust him." I put in and I saw Jake give me a quick glance of thanks.

"Fine," she said grudgingly and shifted up on her tree trunk infinitesimally to give him room to sit. He took the seat gratefully and they quickly fell into a conversation about the mechanics of the design, and Jake started giving her little tips that were more suggestions than anything else for ways for her to improve it. He did it really subtly so that although Rose was smart enough to recognise it, she could choose not to and make it seem like her ideas were the ones that counted.

Meanwhile Edward was stacking up the wood that Jake had dumped on the floor and I put the finishing touches onto our meal, each of which was in a coconut shell.

Once we'd got the penknife the boys has found that the easiest way of accessing the milk without spilling it everywhere was to use the corkscrew function to drill into it and then we could just slurp the milk up, even though it was quite undignified. Then Emmett would smash it on the ground to expose the white flesh. However we then worked out that if Emmett trod on the coconut shell instead, then it would crack in half, and we had instant cups and bowls.

It also turned out that coconut milk was really useful, as we didn't need to boil it as we did our water, and it still quenched our thirst.

Therefore it was into these bowls that I put the fruit salad that would be our breakfast. I had only just finished when, as if she'd been watching from where she had been sleeping so that she would have to spend as little time as possible with us, Tanya came over.

"Oh good, you've made my breakfast," she said, sounding like butter wouldn't melt, but once she'd picked up a bowl her expression turned to one of disgust, "Ew, not fruit again. I know it's healthy and whatever, but isn't there anything else to eat?"

"Well if you find a McDonalds anywhere, please tell me because I would be delighted to know where it is." I said.

"There's no need to be sarcastic," Tanya sniffed.

"And there is no need for you to be rude either, but you seem to enjoy doing that!" snapped Rosalie, "Bella was kind enough to make you breakfast and you've just thrown it back in her face. Just like you complained about the shelter last night, which the boys, including Edward put up for you. And yet I don't see you working to get yourself any food. In fact, you haven't done a single thing all the time we've been here except complain, bitch and treat it like a vacation. Well, here's a newsflash for you; this ain't a vacation honey. This is life or death. It may not seem like that to your pretty little brain, but something could change at any moment. Right now we are living in a very unpredictable environment, so I suggest you shut the hell up and help or you will be very sorry. You do not want to see what I will do to you to make your life a living hell. You will wish that you had never been born!" She ranted.

Tanya looked taken aback at her outburst and looked for Edward for help and support.

"I'm afraid she's right, Tan. As much as I hate to admit it; you're not the Tanya I fell in love with. She used to love trying to rough it, but now it is all about your appearance which by the way is fine. Great, even. So maybe we could find that old Tanya, behind her appearance?"

I was shocked by Edward's reaction and so was Tanya. She couldn't believe it.

"But, Eddie, you've never complained before." She said, batting her eyelids, at the same time as widening her eyes to saucer like proportions.

"I haven't had need to, because I liked you just the way you were. But here, it's different. We need to all work together as a team and Rosalie was right. You aren't pulling your weight at the moment. But I know you can do it Tanya. I don't expect a radical change overnight, but it would be nice to see you trying to help."

"The same goes for you Victoria." Rosalie put in, glowering at the red coloured tangled mess that was Victoria. Her hair did need help, but she didn't seem all that bothered.

"Yeah, I will. But you know before, I was trying to keep Tan out of the way, so that you guys could have fun and stuff." She said and Tanya looked even more shocked.

All of a sudden she burst into tears and ran off. Alice looked at Edward.

"Go. You are the only one who can comfort her. Tell her that you were being a bit harsh, but that there were elements to what Rose said that were true. Try to get her to be more willing to help. But be back soon too. We have a lot to discuss over breakfast."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I think it's time that we should explore the island or whatever we are on. We might be scared of animals and stuff that could be out there but I also think that we are acting like Lost is real. And I can tell you for a fact that polar bears cannot survive on an island like this."

We all laughed at this; she was probably right.

"Besides," she added, "I think that if anything was going to attack or hurt us, they'd have done it by now. Or at least made their presence known."

"I agree Alice," Jake said, lifting his head from where it was bent over the trap that he and Rose were working on, "And while we're out there, we can lay this trap. I think it's as good as it's going to get."

"Yeah, but let's make a couple, so we don't only have this to go on," Rose replied and I was surprised to hear how warm her tone was. Although Rose and Jake didn't outwardly hate each other, they exchanged insults and banter constantly, and I sometimes wondered whether there wasn't actually some real animosity behind it.

"Good idea!" Jake said and bounded off to get more vines and twigs and stuff.

Shortly after Jasper came over and held out two fish that he had caught. I immediately grilled them, while the others were eating their fruit breakfast, and promised that I would cut them up so we could have them with us for lunch as we weren't planning on being back here for it. We wanted as much time as possible to explore the island and while we were eating we also discussed what we'd do.

"Well, I think that we should be in groups of two or three." Jasper said, "There is no point in us going anywhere alone and that would mean that if something did happen there would be someone to help the other or if necessary fetch help."

"As much I hate to admit this, I also think that we shouldn't go in our couples. There is too high a possibility of people getting distracted," Nessie added, giving her eldest brother a meaningful look that was unfortunately completely lost on him. Rosalie however wasn't quite so blind and blushed slightly; again something I never thought I'd see her do.

Then we had to decide where we would go. It was decided that two groups would head along the beach in opposite directions, to see if they met at any point, and three groups would set out through the woods, splitting the land into three segments.

Once we'd agreed on that, the groups were set. Emmett would go with Alice. Rosalie with Jake and they would lay the traps, so they would be one of the groups heading into the forest. Tanya and Victoria would accompany Mike and they insisted on going along the beach. It was mainly Tanya, who, after coming back from her chat with Edward with red rimmed eyes, ate her food without complaint, then offered very quietly to help wash out the coconuts; however I guessed that going into the woods would be way too horrific for her and I also thought that if she was at least trying, then it was an improvement to before.

Nessie would go with Jasper, which left me with Edward.

I glowered at Alice when she said this, knowing that it wasn't just a coincidence that I was with him, but she just smiled at me sweetly.

When it turned out that I would be heading into the woods as well, my heart skipped a beat. There was no way that I would remain upright for the entire hike, no way at all. I just hoped, secretly that my knight in shining armour would catch me.

* * *

**AN: Don't kill me! I'm sorry it is so late, but life is crazy right now. I have barely had a minute to think, let alone write. But it is here now at least, and I most definitely haven't given up!**

** Bella and Edward alone together all day... What do you think is going to happen?**

** Thanks as always to my Beta, who is awesome as always, and nags me a lot!**

** Please Review!**

** Layla x**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Not mine. 'Nuff said.**

_Previously..._

_Nessie would go with Jasper, which left me with Edward._

_I glowered at Alice when she said this, knowing that it wasn't just a coincidence that I was with him, but she just smiled at me sweetly._

_When it turned out that I would be heading into the woods as well, my heart skipped a beat. There was no way that I would remain upright for the entire hike, no way at all. I just hoped, secretly that my knight in shining armour would catch me._

* * *

Chapter 13 – Exploring the Island

As soon as Rose and Jake had finished their second trap and I had fried the fish and then cut them into small pieces so that we could have them with our lunch, we set. I felt a thrill of excitement that I just couldn't hide. I was going with Edward, and despite Tanya's jealous looks ad death glares, I knew that it wouldn't be long before I couldn't see them, and I would have Edward all to myself for the rest of the day. And although I may not be able to dazzle him with my superior conversational skills, as Alice had instructed me, I might just manage to convince him that I was a better person than Tanya in more ways than one. I could show him that I wasn't a self-centred person who no doubt was already bitching to Mike about something, probably me.

However, as soon as I'd had this thought, as Edward clearly loved her still, and I was many things, but I wasn't a man stealer. And I shouldn't have been trying to think of ways of getting Edward to hate Tanya, or at the very least dislike her. Besides, his talk with her may well have sunk in and she would try to be a better person from now on. Maybe not completely, but it was possible that she would at least try, and they would live happily ever after, even if I didn't.

I clung to this resolve as we hit the tree line, as it was one that I was comfortable with. As long as both Edward and Tanya were happy, then there was no reason for me to mourn. It wasn't like I stood a chance with Edward in any case.

I predictably, immediately fell over a tree root as soon as I stepped off of the beach, but not-so-predictably I didn't actually hit the ground, as Edward once again came to my rescue, and caught me, just like the first day on the boat.

"You may have to do that a lot," I smiled at him from his arms, sounding apologetic.

"I think I can handle that," he said, flashing me his crooked grin that I had become so accustomed to over the past few weeks, "Though it might have been better to have gone along the beach."

"I think a trek through the forest might have been too much for Tanya in her present state." Edward laughed, agreeing with me, "And I didn't see Mike or Victoria complaining either. Also, your over-protectiveness ruled out Nessie venturing towards the trees, even though you know that she will be perfectly safe with Jasper. Honestly, you're worse than a father with her."

"Nessie is still young; she needs protecting!" he argued, not at all ashamed at his behaviour.

"So is Jake, but you don't see me acting in the same way. Heck, all of us are way too young to be here. That's why we were on a child-friendly cruise, and not dumped on an island in the first place. But this is was life's hand has dealt us, and now we have to make the best of it, and not mollycoddle those who honestly don't need it." Then I slipped and landed on my bum, meaning that my little speech literally fell flat, and Edward burst out laughing, partly at my actions, and partly at my reproachful expression. His laugh was so carefree, and it had a musical quality to it that I couldn't really place, but had only heard in two other people's laughs before: his sisters. Emmett's was too booming and hearty to hold any music in it, but Nessie's and Alice's could have been mistaken for wind chimes or something equally tinkling. And the best part was that it wasn't even forced, but completely natural, and it was a complete contrast to any other laughs that I'd ever heard.

"You know, that speech may have convinced me, if you hadn't have fallen on your butt!" Edward laughed.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Really?"

"Nah," he grinned, "I am not like a Dad."

"No, you're worse. By fifteen, most Dads would have accepted that their little girls are going to have to date boys, not matter how much they dislike it. They may still threaten them, but they would definitely not be as hostile as you are to Jacob. Nor as protective. About everything."

"Isabella Swan, I will not have you criticising my parenting skills," Edward said, in a haughty British accent, "That is just plain rude."

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "Rude? I beg your pardon, sir, but I think rude is not helping a lady up when she has disastrously fallen onto her derriere."

"Pray, forgive me fine lady, but you had me all of a flutter with your extraordinary grace and elegance."

"Grace and elegance my butt!" I snorted.

"Well exactly!" Edward chuckled, "And how am I supposed to help you when you do not give me time to try and come to your assistance?"

"I am a strong and independent woman, and do not need to rely on a man for anything." I retorted, then stalked off, praying that I wouldn't trip this time. Instead I trod on a sharp twig, and, having no shoes on, it hurt like a bitch. Like our clothes, we'd quickly ditched our shoes, which were mainly flip-flops in any case, as we'd had no need for them on the beach. But as I'd just found out, in the forest was a different matter.

"OW!" I yelled, hopping around in agony, "Holy crow; that hurts!"

"What have you done?" Edward asked worriedly, hurrying over.

"Trodden on something!" I tried to twist my foot to see the damage. Bad move; I nearly fell over. But Edward caught me and set me on the ground, so he could have a look. His cool fingers gently probed the tender area f my foot and I winced slightly.

"What's the prognosis doc? Am I going to live?" I asked weakly, trying to insert a little humour into the situation.

"Hmm," Edward replied, sounding completely serious, "I'm afraid it's not good news. It's going to have to come off."

"My foot?"

"Your whole leg."

I drew in a 'shocked' breath, "Not my whole leg!"

"Your whole leg." He confirmed gravely.

I gasped again and pretended to faint, including the hand to my forehead. Edward chuckled, and finally I allowed myself to giggle at the absurdity of our little drama.

"But seriously, you've got nothing to worry about. It is bleeding, but we are close enough to the stream. You can just wash it and it'll be as right as rain. Here, I'll carry you."

"No, you don't need to do that!" I said, trying to stand up, "I'm fine. Honest." I put weight onto my foot, and tried to hide the cringe of pain.

Unfortunately it didn't work.

"Yes, your face tells me that you're feeling absolutely no pain at all." Edward said dryly.

"Fine!" I rolled my eyes, "But I should warn you; I'm heavier than your average backpack."

"Pfft," he shrugged it off with the same noise that Alice did, and almost before I knew what was happening, he scooped me up, bridal style, with apparently very little effort, although some of his muscles did become a bit more pronounced.

_Bella, you're supposed to be in agony, not ogling Edward's chest. Or his biceps. Or any part of his body. _I chided myself.

Edward carried me easily through the forest, and we reached the stream sooner than I expected. He gently set me down on a smooth rock, by the side of the stream, then waded in to bathe my foot.

"Hey, you don't need to wash my foot!" I protested, "It's all dirty and stuff. And besides, I'm perfectly capable of washing my own foot!"

"I know you are," he said, smiling softly, "But maybe I want to wash it for you." He looked intensely into my eyes while he said this. I blushed. Deeply. ? Looking away, I mumbled,

"No, I guess it doesn't."

His soft chuckle filed my ears, "What's up Bella? Can't take a compliment?" he teased.

"Did you know that a giraffe only has seven bones in its neck? But a sparrow has fourteen?" I said, deliberately changing the subject.

"I didn't know that," Edward smirked, "That's very 'interesting'."

"That's what I thought!" I agreed, "I heard it on some wildlife show somewhere."

"Right, wonderful. By the way your foot is clean, and it has even stopped bleeding. So I reckon we are good to go. Can you stand on it now?"

"Let's see, shall we," I smirked, raising an eyebrow, to which Edward just rolled his eyes. Shamelessly using him as a pulling post, I heaved myself up with a grunt, then gingerly put weight on my foot. I winced slightly, but the pain was certainly more bearable than it had been earlier, though that might have been due to Edward's hand that was resting on my hip. Or my hand on his shoulder. The physical contact was enough.

"Well then, let's go!" I said, in a very chipper voice. Edward rolled his eyes again. "Still got lots of this island to explore!"

"Shall we follow the stream to the waterfall, then the rock face? It might be less hazardous for certain members of this group." Edward added with his trademark crooked grin.

"Oh, yes, that's right; mock the afflicted. I don't care. Besides, we need to protect your pretty feet, from being mauled like mine has been. Honestly he calls himself a gentleman, then lets the lady get hurt. What is the world coming to?" I joked, and we set off. The banter carried on almost continuously. It was as though we couldn't be serious with each other. But at the same time, I learned a few things about Edward that would have to be added to my Edward list. This was a list that I carried in my head, about things I knew and loved about Edward. Well, maybe loved was a bit strong, but liked a lot.

We were walking a bit slower because of my foot, but it didn't really matter, as we hadn't really set a time to get back, and, besides, Edward's suggestion had been a good one, as the going was easier, and it was nicely refreshing to walk along the stream-bed instead of fight through the tangle of vines and branches and everything that we had been doing before. One thing we had found out for sure, which we had suspected already was that the forest was uncultivated, making it a complete maze to go through, as well as really difficult.

Edward was now being a true gentleman, seemingly having taken my joke seriously. He went ahead and wouldn't let me leave his path, for fear that I might 'damage myself even more'.

After only five minutes of Edward being overly protective, and warning me of every single twig in the damn forest, I'd had enough.

"Have I told you about the time I went hiking with my Dad and I had a broken leg?" I demanded, "He paid me a hell of a lot less attention, and yet, would you believe it? I survived."

"Did he also drop you on your head as a baby? Because that would also explain your pigheaded stubbornness!" Edward retorted.

"I believe that was Emmett," I said coolly.

"Yeah, probably," Edward shrugged, grinning, "My bad."

"Indeed," I said dryly, " But seriously, you have got to stop smothering me. I can handle myself."

"Can you not just accept that I care very much for your welfare?" he asked, and it sounded like he was pleading with me, which made me feel kind of uncomfortable. This was not helped when he added "Almost too much," under his breath.

"I get it Edward," I said, ignoring the last part of what he said, as I was struggling to understand or even accept it, "but by caring for someone, you also have to let them make mistakes and hurt themselves sometimes. Because, by doing that they can learn and grow. And so can you. You have to accept that you can't be God for them, and control every aspect of their lives. They could come to resent you for it. That way you can let go, so that they can thrive on their own." When I finished, I looked Edward in the eye, and I noticed something akin to admiration and awe in there.

"What?" I asked, blushing, and averting my eyes slightly.

"That was very profound and thought-provoking. Thank you." He replied softly. My blush deepened.

"It was nothing," I mumbled, "I think I might have read it in one of Renee's self help books at one point. Apparently parents sometimes feel like that, and as you act like a parent a lot of the time, we can't blame you for experiencing the same things. Maybe."

"We, huh? Who's we?" Edward asked, smirk back in place.

"It's what you do when you go to the toilet!" I retorted, "Edward, we were having a serious conversation there. It's great that we can always joke about, but we do sometimes have to be serious. That too is part of growing up. And we there, that means the both of us. You and I!" I added warningly.

"Ok, I can do serious, hmm, serious..." he trailed off thoughtfully.

We trudged, or rather scrambled on, our breathing becoming laboured as we started heading uphill. The cliffs by the waterfall had petered out, leading to a steep slope that we instinctively started climbing; knowing that the only way to see what the island was like was to see it from above. On top of this, the group had unconsciously come to the decision that this was an island, since there was absolutely no sign of human habitation, and therefore, it couldn't be attached to any mainland, or even a large island, as then it would have been inhabited, or still be inhabited.

Eventually Edward said, "What do you miss most, so far, that we haven't got here?"

"Um, my books, I guess. Or my laptop. I enjoyed writing a lot at home. Nothing good enough to be published. But it was a way to express my creativity. It was better than a diary for me."

"Fair enough. For me it's my music, my piano. Like you I need to express myself in some way. I used to use my piano for that, writing and playing songs. It's worse right now, because I've got a song swirling around my head, and I can't even write it down. It's quite annoying." He grinned wryly.

"Could you sing or hum it to me?" I asked tentatively. I didn't know how private he was about his music, so I wasn't sure if he would. I was very private, so if he had asked to read my work, I would have hesitated, if I'd even shown it to him in the first place.

Luckily for me, he wasn't like that. He cleared his throat, then started to hum.

It was the most exquisite music that I'd ever heard. It was full of subtle changes and nuances that I didn't even know a human voice could capture. It left me speechless from beginning to end.

"So?" Edward asked, very anxiously, thirty seconds after he had finished, and I still hadn't said anything because I was too dumbstruck.

"That was beautiful." I whispered, gazing at him in awe. I could never have sung like that.

"You liked it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Loved it," I smiled at him.

"It was for you," he murmured, "You inspired it."

I felt a swooping sensation in my chest, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. It was like I had just fallen off a cliff and was still tumbling. But far from being frightened, it was the most amazing feeling that I had ever had. It was exciting, edgy, completely unexpected, and it had everything to do with the red-headed, green-eyed man in front of me.

I didn't even have to ask myself what had happened. I didn't need to.

I had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with Edward Cullen, and there was nothing I could do about it.

* * *

**AN: Ok, I have three things to apologise for now. But they are kind of linked, so please forgive me.**

**1. This hasn't been beta-ed. So please excuse any mistakes. Also please hide me from my Beta, as she will probably hunt me down and kill me in my sleep!**

**2. The reason that I didn't want to wait for it to be Beta-ed is because I am going to Cornwall tomorrow as soon as I get home from school, and I will not have much time to update, or write, as I will have to be 'sociable'. So I wanted to give something to keep you going.**

**3. This is also why it is a bit short. As well as it seemed like a good place to finish! ;)**

**However, do not worry, as right now I am very inspired by this story, so I don't think I can stop writing. I will get the next chapter up asap!**

**Also, WOW guys! Twelve reviews. I feel so happy *wipes away a tear of joy* I love you all!**

**Sorry for the very long note!**

**Please review!**

**Layla xxx**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: No es lo mio. Es de Stephenie Meyer.**

**Warning: At the end of the chapter there may be words that aren't suitable to the rating. Just so you know.**

_Previously..._

"_It was for you," he murmured, "You inspired it."_

_I felt a swooping sensation in my chest and suddenly it was hard to breathe. It was like I had just fallen off a cliff and was still tumbling. But far from being frightened, it was the most amazing feeling that I had ever had. It was exciting, edgy, completely unexpected and it had everything to do with the __redheaded, green__-eyed man in front of me._

_I didn't even have to ask myself what had happened. I didn't need to._

_I had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with Edward Cullen, and there was nothing I could do about it._

* * *

Chapter 14 – Almost and Maybe

_I was standing on the top of a cliff, with my toes curled over the edge. I knew that I had to jump, but I was nervous to do so. Heights had never been my thing, so I wasn't looking forward to plummeting towards the sea below me._

_Before I managed to gather my confidence, I plunged over the edge. I was freefalling, tumbling like a ragdoll in the breezes. The sea was coming up quickly and all of a sudden it wasn't the sea any more. It was rock hard ground, like that which you would see in the desert. And I was heading towards it even more rapidly than before. I screamed, one word coming to my lips as I fell._

"_Edward!" I yelled._

_Just as I closed my eyes and murmured his name again, bracing myself for impact the inevitable pain that would come with it, I was caught by strong arms. Edward was already at the bottom of the cliff, and he had saved me, as he had done numerous times before, when I had lost my balance. _

"_Edward?" I whispered, looking into his eyes._

"_Yes my love. I have already fallen," he replied enigmatically, and he pressed his soft lips to my forehead. The world around me darkened and dissolved into darkness._

I came to slowly, blinking groggily in the blinding sunlight, my nostrils full of a strange yet achingly familiar smell. The smell of roasting meat.

My eyes snapped fully open, as I wondered where it was coming from. I got up and walked to the fire area.

"Success!" Rosalie smiled at me, "I think that's pretty good, considering we didn't know where to put the traps. It's only one bird, but it's better than nothing. The only problem was that we couldn't get it out of the trap, while keeping the trap intact, so Jacob is making a new one."

Jake looked up from his seat and grinned.

"But who killed it and plucked it?" I asked, feeling squeamish at the thought, "You must have been up for ages already."

"Yeah," Rose shrugged nonchalantly, "It's not so bad. We barely did anything compared to you guys yesterday. We were too busy with finding the perfect place to put a trap for the birds, so we didn't really explore that much."

The day before, after my revelation, we had carried on up the hill like nothing had happened, which technically it hadn't, as the only change had been inside my chest. We went higher and higher and the trees started to thin out, giving way to more flowers and grass, until we arrived at a rocky area interspersed with sparse wildlife.

Edward had instructed me to stay at the bottom, while he went up to the top, which seemed to be about twenty metres above us. I ignored him and scrambled after, following his exact footsteps.

It was a false summit, so we'd carried on up, saying that we would have to turn back if there was another false summit. The terrain was getting trickier and it was already mid-afternoon.

Luckily, there wasn't, and we topped it to see the azure expanse of blue sea behind it. For a second I'd stood marvelling at the beauty, but Edward's soft exclamation and nudge made me look at him. He motioned for me to look at the rest of the island, and as I'd done so, I saw why he'd cried out.

I could see the stream where we'd bathed my foot earlier, although I couldn't actually see our camp, which would explain how we hadn't seen the summit of this hill before, or the top of the island, as at that point, it was clear that we were at the highest point.

It wasn't a very large island; there were two large sandy beaches, that curved in a convex way, typical of a coral island, as opposed to the norm of the concave beaches that you would see everywhere in the world. After about half a circle of each, they flattened out to form straight beaches. These came together in a rocky point, on the exact opposite side of the stream. In short, the island looked exactly like a heart.

Edward and I had stood there for about five minutes, and eaten our food that hadn't had time to eat before. We spotted a group of about five people walking along one of curved beaches. We assumed that they had met up at the rocky area at the point of the heart, and had realised that it was indeed an island. We couldn't see anyone else, but we didn't expect too, as they were supposed to either be in the trees like we were, or already back at the camp.

We realised that we had better get back to the camp as quickly as possible, or we would be trying to get back in the dark. We left straight away, getting back faster than I expected, as we were heading downhill for a large part of the way, and there was already a path that we had figured out on the way up. We got back just before dusk fell, and reported what we'd found over dinner. Alice immediately dubbed the island, 'The Island of Love'. The rest of us had rolled our eyes, but let the name slide anyway. Doubtless it would have stuck in any case, despite all attempts to call it something else, so we decided to give up the fight before it had even started.

Jasper however, had a gloomier outlook. He said that he had never seen of this island on the sea charts that he liked to study and he said that he probably would have remembered it on account of its shape. Therefore it was highly possible that it was an uncharted island and as there were so many small islands in this part of the world, it made the likelihood of being found worse. It made us all a bit depressed, so we'd gone to bed early, to try and forget about it.

* * *

"Yes, well that I understand!" I laughed at Rose, "But what about the killing and the plucking bit?"

"That was easy, and we now have the capacity for feather pillows. Alice is trying to make pillow cases, helped by Nessie, and Jasper is trying to catch some fish for lunch. I don't really know why, as we already have enough food."

"More protein is always good," I said, "Besides, I could probably dry it or something for another day. Also all practice is good practice. And the others? I noticed I was the last one in bed."

"Washing. All of them. Jake is not happy that Edward is breathing down his neck, but I reminded him that Edward would be all over Tanya and therefore wouldn't notice if he got up to funny business under the water of the pool."

"Rosalie! You're corrupting the youth there; you realise that?"

"Meh. Edward needs to get off his high horse and let Nessie have some fun. She's only fifteen after all."

"I basically told him that yesterday, but he wouldn't listen," I grimaced, "He just said that he knows what's best for her. I guess I could remind him of what he was doing with Tanya at that age."

"Nah, don't bother. It won't do any good. He'll realise that he's being overprotective sooner or later. Or Nessie herself will tell him. Something along those lines."

"That day can't come soon enough," I grinned, and started to arrange the coconut bowls for breakfast as the fowl looked to be nearly ready.

"Um we may have overcooked the bird slightly," I confessed as I served it out about half an hour later, "We wanted to be safe, but we may have erred on the side of caution, and burned it."

"Meat!" Emmett yelled, randomly.

"I think what he is saying, is that we are all so thankful to be eating something other than fruit, that we aren't going to bother about whether it is overdone or not." Edward said with a rueful smile.

"Not for me thanks." Victoria sniffed, "I'm a vegetarian."

Emmett nearly choked, "What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. I have never eaten meat. I don't agree with the way they are killed."

"You know people do it as humanely as they can?" Alice asked, a little aggressively, "You might as well say that you disagree that people kill animals at all."

"Well if you put it like that, then yes, I do." Victoria retorted.

"Did you know," Nessie added, "That cows and sheep wouldn't exist if we didn't eat meat? The whole purpose for their existence is to provide food and clothing for us."

"I didn't know that, but it doesn't change my mind." Victoria said stiffly, "Now please. I'm not making you guys be vegetarian so please don't try and force me to eat meat. I'd rather not have breakfast at all today. Let's just agree to disagree."

"We have canines and incisors for a reason," Alice grumbled under her breath, "And it's not for chewing on lettuce leaves."

"That's enough!" Victoria stood up, "I get that you don't understand why I'm a vegetarian, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give it up. I admit that eventually, I may have to give up on my principals, if we are stuck here, because there are no meat substitutes here, but for now, I will not eat meat. And that's final."

"Guys, leave Victoria alone," Tanya defended, much to everyone's surprise, "If she wants to be a vegetarian, let her. Besides, that means more meat for us."

"Hear hear!" Emmett boomed, grabbing Victoria's bowl and scarfing it down, before the rest of us even had a chance to have a look at it.

"So much for 'more for us'," Rosalie grumbled, "Why don't we try more for Emmett?"

"Aw, baby, did you want some?" Emmett asked with his mouth full. "You should have said."

Rosalie rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to say something scathing, but I cut in first.

"How do you guys know so many meat-related facts anyway?"

"Nessie tried to go veggie on us a couple of years ago, but Dad wouldn't have any of it. So he brought out all these facts. Nessie claimed that she wouldn't change her mind, just like Victoria, so Dad made us bacon in the morning. She couldn't resist." Edward grinned.

"And somehow, probably partly because we were all so shocked at her decision, because Nessie is the biggest meat eater around, these facts stuck. Now we just trot them out to any passing vegetarian." Alice added.

"And have you convinced anyone?" Victoria asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," Emmett said cheerily, "But there's always hope."

Victoria rolled her eyes again and Rose smacked Emmett around the head.

"Ow!" he yelled, "What did you do that for?"

"Well I figured that you could do with losing a few more brain cells." She replied nonchalantly, "Not that you have that many to spare, but I thought that it might knock some sense into you. Guess I was wrong."

We all laughed at this, as well as the injured expression on Emmett's face.

Once we'd finished breakfast, Edward suggested that we go and explore a bit more of the 'lower' areas of the island. Everyone else had already split off and was doing their own thing, but Edward had just hung around Tanya and I while we did the washing up. As Edward had promised, Tanya was doing more to help the group, although I had a feeling that it was only because Edward wanted it, and not because she felt like she ought to or that it would be a good thing to help out as it really wasn't a holiday. What Rose had said was harsh, but I knew that it was also necessary at the same time.

I agreed to Edward's suggestion, but Tanya declined, much to my relief, and said that she wanted to see what Alice was doing, as she had always been fashionable, and privately she liked what Alice did although she wouldn't admit it to her friends.

My mouth may have dropped open at that point and Edward's nudge to my ribs was more than welcome.

"What?" Tanya asked, giving a small but genuine smile, "Just because Alice was no longer cool, it didn't mean that I didn't admire her. I guess that I just wanted to impress my friends more than maintain friendly relationships with her. When you're in High School things are a lot more complicated."

"I know that. But why now?" I said, biting my tongue to prevent all the counter-arguments I could have come out with against what she said. It all basically boiled down to her being shallow, but I didn't think that Edward would appreciate that.

"Honestly? Because I still care too much about my appearance and she is the one to be able to help me with that. It may be vain, but I guess that is now part of who I am. Also, I don't want to push through the trees and vines and stuff in there. I might get twigs in my hair and I'll get all sweaty."

"Fair enough," I said, grinning slightly, "At least you're honest."

"Wow," I said, once we'd got under cover of the trees, "Where did that come from?"

"I think my talk with her yesterday reminded her of who she used to be. Hopefully it will be a permanent thing. I love her when she is nice, because she is a much better person. It's all the other times that I'm not so fond of her." Edward grimaced at this last thought

"Why do you put up with it then? Surely you can have someone who is nice all the time?" _Someone like me maybe, _I added in my head, unwilling to say it aloud.

"I've been with Tanya so long now, I kind of feel that we should take it all the way. I mean if we can't work through our problems, then what kind of couple would we be?"

My heart, already sinking from this conversation, hit my bare feet. He was never going to love me. Ever.

"A normal one? I think that true couples wouldn't have that many problems character-wise. They would love each other for exactly who they are and don't dislike any part of the other person at all. They accept and even love the bad bits of the relationship and never feeling that the other person is lacking in any way. They certainly wouldn't try to change the other person." I realised half way through what I was saying that I was describing my love for Edward in all its forms. I knew that I wouldn't want to change Edward, because otherwise, he wouldn't be the person I had fallen in love with. I even loved his stubbornness and insistence that he knew what was best for everyone. I love his over-protective streak, and his slightly control-freak mannerisms that weren't as prevalent on the island as there was so much unpredictability to each day that there was no way that anyone could control what was happening. I loved Edward as a whole, and not just a part of him, as I suspected Tanya might.

"People change you know; and they might not be as lovely as they used to be. Do you have to change as well to accept this, or should you just split up with them as soon as they develop a trait that you don't necessarily like?"

"No, because if you love someone enough, you should love each new trait as it arrives. If not, you must be able to love them enough to accept it, and maybe complain about it a little to your friends, but essentially not be bothered or upset by it. It takes two to tango though. This love has to be mutual, or the relationship will never work out."

"Well, I guess," Edward fell silent, deep in thought. I didn't press him; I thought that he might be re-evaluating his relationship with Tanya in his head.

I took the opportunity to study his features in more detail; while he was less observant to what was around him. Just because I had fallen for his character, his personality, it didn't mean that I could appreciate what he looked like as well, as I had surreptitiously many time before.

Luckily, after a while, we lapsed back into the easy banter of the day before, although I was glad that we could be completely serious too, and reveal what we were thinking. Love him or not, Edward was swiftly becoming one of my best friends in the world and as I didn't have many friends, I could see how significant that was.

I was describing a time when I had been forced to play badminton at school and had simultaneously managed to hit myself on the shoulder, as well as my partner on the head with the badminton racquet, and Edward was laughing at me for being so clumsy and uncoordinated.

"Not only that, but you find it nearly impossible to walk on a flat stable surface without finding something to trip over." He laughed.

"Hey I'm not that bad!" I said indignantly, "The ship was moving an awful lot!"

Unfortunately, just like the previous day, I tripped and fell backwards, away from Edward, as I had been looking back at him and landed on my bum heavily. I could still hear Edward's deep chuckle, but I could no longer see him, as I had fallen through the foliage.

But now it seemed that I was in a small clearing, filled with flowers and small shoots.

"Edward, come here," I called softly, unwilling to break the peace and serenity that surrounded this small clearing. He came into the clearing, following the sound of my voice, and whistled quietly on entering.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked.

"Amazing." He said, still looking around, while pulling me up.

Just as I was righted, he pulled me towards the middle, causing me to lose my balance again. Edward's laugh at that sounded so much more carefree, as if this small clearing had wiped all the stresses away. I certainly felt more peaceful than I had before.

"Come on, let's sit down." He said, sounding more child-like than I had heard him before, and reminding me eerily of Emmett. They may not have looked alike, but there were times like this when some part of their mannerisms showed to me that they were indeed related.

I giggled, and sank down next to him, where he put his arm casually around my shoulders. My heartbeat raced at this simple touch, and not for the first time, I wished that he saw me as more than a friend.

All of a sudden he pulled me back, so I was lying down, and we just gazed at the sky for a few minutes, before I decided that I had enough of the calmness and the lack of speaking that had come over us.

"Let's play twenty questions!" I said, sitting back up.

"Do we have to? That's so unoriginal. Why can't we just find things out about each other in the natural course of time?"

"Spoilsport!" I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes at my childish antics, "Let's play twenty questions. But I'll start. What is your favourite colour?"

"Brown," I replied, after some hesitation. Just a few weeks previously, there would have been no deliberation at all, but now a certain pair of green eyes seemed much more appealing to brown.

"Why brown?"

"Hey it's my turn! What's your favourite colour?"

"Green. Why brown?"

"Brown is warm and much better than green. It is the colour of mud and therefore of life as mud is what allows life to start. Also, it is the colour of deserts, the warmest places in the world. Why green?"

Edward was looking intently into my eyes. "You're right about brown, it is a nice colour. Green is because it is the colour of life, conversely, and also because it is the colour of Nessie's eyes, as well as our mother's."

"You miss her." It wasn't a question.

"I do. She loves my music, whereas no one else is really bothered."

"I'm bothered. I think your music is amazing." We were inches from each other, having subconsciously moved in towards each other.

I saw Edward's mouth open slightly and I felt a thrill go through me. Were we going to kiss? At last?

All of a sudden, a shriek pierced the silence of the wood.

"I knew it! Edward, how could you?" Tanya was standing at the edge of the clearing, glaring at us with hate-filled eyes.

_Ah. Shit._

_

* * *

_

**AN: The s*** has just hit the fan! Tune in to find out what happens next!**

**This chapter is for edwardsgirly4eva who has bugged me to update soon! Muchos gracias also to my beta HopingForLove! She has just updated for the first time in nearly a year, if you want to check her story out!**

**Review please! I love you!**

**Layla x**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the storyline. Everything else belongs to the inestimable Ms Meyer.**

_Previously..._

"_I'm bothered. I think your music is amazing." We were inches from each other, having subconsciously moved in towards each other._

_I saw Edward's mouth open slightly and I felt a thrill go through me. Were we going to kiss? At last?_

_All of a sudden, a shriek pierced the silence of the wood._

"_I knew it! Edward, how could you?" Tanya was standing at the edge of the clearing, glaring at us with hate-filled eyes._

Ah. Shit.

* * *

_**I hate and I love. Perhaps you may ask why this is. I do not know but I feel it to be happening and I am tormented. – Catullus**_

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Chapter 15 – Major Mess

EPOV

Before I could register what had happened, Tanya's eyes had filled with tears and she turned on her heel and ran off.

"Tanya!" I cried, leaping up, and chasing after her.

I immediately realised that this was the wrong thing to do, as I heard a stifled sob behind me, and saw Bella stumbling away in the opposite direction. How had I cocked up in such a short amount of time?

"Tanya!" I called again, continuing my pursuit of her. Right now I had to get my priorities right and with Tanya being my girlfriend, I thought that I should probably calm her down first. Although how, I didn't know. She had caught me very nearly cheating on her and my claiming that I hadn't actually done anything wouldn't appease her, as we both knew that I was about to.

It was so unlike me to do such a thing. I was never normally so impulsive. As Alice liked to complain at every possible opportunity, I had a tendency to over-think. This caused problems with a lot of people, as I seemed to be too slow at making decisions, but I didn't mind. I was normally content with the knowledge that I always made the right decision; no matter how long it took, as I had weighed up all the positives and negatives of going through with whatever it was and came to a logical and generally correct decision.

I didn't know what it was about Bella Swan that caused me to be like this, but when she had arrived in my life my whole world had turned upside down from the moment I caught her on the ship. She had made me change all previous ideas I'd had about life, and it was totally unexpected. Looking at her, her chocolate brown eyes, her chestnut brown hair and her pale face, you wouldn't think that behind that gorgeous facade there was a deep and complex person underneath, especially as she always said what I least expected her to say. She constantly took me by surprise and kept me on my toes like no one else could. I went to bed at night thinking of her and woke up fresh in the morning with her still on my mind. She was like a drug that I couldn't get enough of and I felt bad for Tanya, as I was neglecting her, despite the commitment I had promised by asking her to be my girlfriend. But I couldn't help it and I felt torn.

I finally caught up with Tanya further down on the beach. I had never realised it before, but due to her cheerleading and track practice, she was fast. She was sitting on the sand, hugging her knees staring out to sea. I thought the best tactic would be just to go and sit next to her before apologising, but no sooner had I sunk down did she speak.

"I don't get it Edward," she said in a wet voice and I could see that she still had tears leaking out of her eyes, "If you don't like me anymore, why are you still dating me?"

"I do still like you," I said lamely.

"Really?" she said, shrieking slightly, "Then why did you kiss her? That isn't the normal behaviour for someone who likes another girl."

"I didn't kiss her!" I defended.

"You were going to though." Tanya retorted.

I stayed silent; I knew that this would be her argument and I didn't want to lie to her. It would be the worst insult possible.

She took my silence as an affirmative and broke down into sobs again.

"I've worked so hard to keep this relationship together. Especially since we came on this stupid cruise! I felt before that you were pulling away, as you wanted to spend more time with your family, but I didn't think that you were falling out of love with me. Why Edward? What does she have that I don't?"

"She has nothing on you." I said softly, "You were and still are the most amazing girl I have ever met. I've just been stupid not to realise that."

"Oh please," she scoffed, "I might have believed that a month ago, but now? You're obsessed with her Edward. And it's the least you can do to not lie to me about it. Just admit it to yourself and to me."

"I admit, she...intrigues me." I said diplomatically, choosing my words carefully.

"She does more than that Edward. You know, I've been watching you. You look at her the same way that you used to look at me. I think you love her."

"Don't be silly!" I snorted, "I barely know her."

"She loves you, you know Edward. You can see it in her face. She says your name when she's asleep. I've heard her."

"We've all heard her. It doesn't mean anything Tanya. She says Jacob's name too and he's her cousin. For all I know she could see me as a brother. Not that I care or anything."

"Meaning you do." Tanya grinned softly and for a second, I saw the eleven year old girl I wanted so badly to be my girlfriend, and the fifteen year old girl I fell in love with. The girl who knew me inside out and back again.

"So maybe I do care." I blurted, "It doesn't mean I can do anything. I'm dating you. It doesn't matter how I feel about her. I can stop that if I want."

Tanya looked at me incredulously, "Edward, you can't control how you feel. I, of all people, should know that. You think I wanted to ditch Alice when we got to High School? She was my best friend, apart from you."

"Watch me." I growled.

"And if you care about her so much, then maybe...maybe we should call it a day." She said with a tone of finality to her voice, as well as resignation.

"Are you...breaking up with me?" I asked, in shock.

"I guess," she said quietly, looking away, and I could hear the tears building up just from her voice.

"Tanya, why are you doing this? We can work through it, I know we can."

"Edward, please, don't make this hard for me. My heart is breaking here, but we both know that this is the right thing to do. Don't beg me anymore."

She got up and walked away slowly, towards the other side of the island, away from the rest of the group.

"Tanya, wait!" I called, running over to her.

She turned, "What?"

I kissed her softly, wanting to give her something special, for giving me this chance, despite it hurting her. I felt like I ought to feel more pain at the fact that we were no longer a couple after nearly seven years, but I didn't. I realised that I had indeed fallen out of love with her and I'd been denying it desperately, not wanting to think it were possible.

After a few moments, she pulled away gently.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, "But I think you should go and find Bella. I imagine she was pretty upset after you ran away from her."

I pecked Tanya's lips again then moved away.

She smiled bravely and headed slowly back into camp. I set out on the search for Bella, hoping that she hadn't gone too far, and I would find her quickly.

I also mulled over my feelings about what had happened. There was indeed no pain, just relief and I noticed that there was a little bit of hope now. Hope that Bella really did have feelings for me. There was no reason why she should, but Alice had told me that she did, and now Tanya had seconded that. I prayed it was true, I really did.

Luckily Bella had such poor navigation that she had walked in a circle and was in fact back in the meadow where I had left her.

"Bella," I said softly, looking at her tearstained face, and realising quite how epically I had messed up. I had managed to hurt the two most important girls in my life who weren't my sisters, in the space of around five minutes, and so far I hadn't really managed to patch anything back up again.

"Aren't you supposed to be talking, or shagging Tanya? I heard make up sex was great." She snapped at me.

I winced, but I couldn't blame her. I deserved it.

"Tanya and I have broken up." I said softly.

"What d'you do that for?"

"It wasn't working out. There was a beautiful, brown haired girl who couldn't keep out of my mind that got in the way. Everyone knew it except me and maybe this girl herself."

"Great, well go and get off with her then. Just leave me alone." She mumbled.

"I'm trying." I said, even more softly than before, as I sat down on the floor next to her.

She finally looked into my face, wonder dawning in her eyes.

"Me?" She whispered.

"You." And I leaned in and captured her mesmerizing lips with mine, for the first time. The heat, the sparks that flew through me were incredible. I had never felt anything so powerful, so affecting, and I could feel myself getting excited. She kissed me back, hard, and I wished that this could go on forever.

Eventually though, we had to break for air, and when we did I pulled away reluctantly.

"Bella, I've messed up big time. I'm so sorry, for everything I've done. I guess I was scared of the change you would bring although you have already changed me irrevocably. I've had the same girlfriend for nearly seven years, and at our age that is an incredibly long time. I didn't want to let go what I had. It was Tanya that convinced me that I needed to move on."

"Edward, it's my fault too. I should never have let myself get so close to you, not while you still had a girlfriend. It was wrong of me and now I've caused you two to break up, something which I shouldn't have done."

"It was in the process already I think," I smiled sadly, "I was already pulling away from Tanya on the beginning of the trip. You know what I said, about me being there to spend time with my family. I actually didn't want Tanya around, but she forced herself upon me."

"Sounds like fun." Bella said dryly and we both laughed. She seemed back to her normal self, even if her eyes were still a bit blotchy, and I was loathe to say what I was going to, but I had to, for my own peace of mind.

"I hope you'll understand this Bella, but I need time to figure things out. I can't just leap into another relationship. It wouldn't be fair on you, or Tanya. How would like to be branded as the rebound? Please can you give me time to think?"

"Over-think, you mean?"

I smiled, "You know me too well."

Bella grinned briefly, before a thoughtful expression settled on her face.

"I'm going to have to, I suppose. But please, tell me when you have finished."

I gazed into her eyes. "I will," I promised.

"Good. But before you do, I just have one more thing to ask." And she leaned forward, and kissed me again. I was more than happy to comply, one last time.

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**AN: EPOV! Eek! Anyone else excited? This may not even be the only one... But you will have to wait and see!**

**Shorter chapter than usual, but as it is in EPOV, I hope you don't mind.**

**I've been trying to get this chapter up for ages now, but the stupid editing thing kept telling me it wasn't working, so I'm sorry for the delay. I did try to be early.**

**I didn't get as many reviews as normal for the last chapter, but it's ok, because I did still get some.**

**Would it be possible for twenty reviews for this chapter? Because then I would get to a hundred reviews, which would be amazing! And I would love you forever.**

**Please?**

**Layla x**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Everything recognisable belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do own the plot though.**

* * *

_Previously..._

_I smiled, "You know me too well."_

_Bella grinned briefly, before a thoughtful expression settled on her face. _

"_I'm going to have to, I suppose. But please, tell me when you have finished."_

_I gazed into her eyes. "I will," I promised._

"_Good. But before you do, I just have one more thing to ask." And she leaned forward, and kissed me again. I was more than happy to comply, one last time._

* * *

Chapter 16 – Disaster

BPOV

It had now been a week since Edward had asked me to give him space and I was wondering how long he needed. He knew that I liked him and I had to accept that for some strange reason, he reciprocated the feelings.

But a week was a long time, especially here, where we were living day to day and although I was trying desperately not to show it, I was running out of patience. I had to let him have his time, yet the sexual tension between us was mounting every day.

It didn't help that Alice informed me a few days previously that I was talking about Edward in my sleep almost constantly and that a few times she was certain that he was awake for it, as his breathing hadn't been regular enough for him to be sleeping. She had noticed as she had taken to sleeping next to him.

I was, of course, mortified when I heard this and Edward had even commented on the fact that I kept blushing around him on that day, until I had finally cracked and told him the reason for my embarrassment. He'd just laughed and told me that he found it sweet, which had made me flush even more scarlet, causing him to laugh even more. It was only when I went off in a huff that he apologised and even gave me a hug to make up.

That was the only true physical contact we'd had the entire time, because although we talked and spent time together, as it was inevitable that we had to do things together, being that the island was so small, there had also been a bit of a difference in our current 'relationship'. This upset me as I didn't want anything to change at all; I had much preferred it before.

There had however been another incident, that had made me feel a whole lot better about what I felt for Edward. The next day Tanya had come up to me while I was trying to organise our rations, so we wouldn't have to forage for the next few days.

"Hey Bella. What's up?"

"Nothing much," I replied cautiously, as only the night before she had been glaring daggers at anyone who tried to speak to her.

"Good, can I speak to you?"

"Um, sure. Shoot."

She looked a bit nervous for a moment; an expression which I was incredibly surprised to see on her face, before launching herself into speech.

"I want to apologise for the way I treated you Bella, 'cause it was just mean, and completely not me. I mean, you would think that it would be exactly like me, since I'm a cheerleader and stuff and cheerleader stereotype is really bitchy, but honestly, it was just because I was afraid of losing Edward. You see, he was already pulling away from me before we went on the stupid cruise, which is why I went on it in the first place, because I thought I could win him back while we were there and away from my school-friends who are stereotypical and don't like Alice and think that they should be dating Edward because they are clearly 'prettier' than me, but then he saw you, and you were different to them, and you were nice and naturally pretty and I was really worried then, so I thought I could chase you off, and at the same time I was trying too hard with Edward, and then-" she babbled.

"Tanya!" I cut her off.

"Oh, sorry!" She replied, when she realised that she had been going at a million miles an hour.

"Don't worry about it. I was horribly jealous of you. But I wouldn't have tried to break you up. If I'm honest, I thought you and Edward were going to go all the way, and in ten years time you would be married with two kids. I honestly never tried anything to break you two up. I felt really bad last night."

"I know," Tanya sniffed, and I realised that she was close to tears, "I'm going to try and be less shallow now as well. Because that kind of is me." She smiled, "But it wasn't that girl that Edward started dating, and he wants me to be more like her."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said encouragingly, "And I really am sorry that you guys didn't work out. If it's any consolation, you looked really good together."

"But not as good as you and Edward look. You seem to be made for each other. I realised that from the start, but I didn't want to accept it as I was still determined to keep Edward. I fought so hard to keep him and I really should have pushed him at you. Maybe then there wouldn't have been so much heartbreak on everyone's behalf."

"Maybe not. But you know what Edward is like. Right now I'm 'giving him time' because he wants to think about it."

"Ugh, I know. You're going to have to let him have it. I mean, he was still over-thinking about us last night. Seriously, if I hadn't broken up with him, we would probably be together in six months time and everyone would be unhappy. You are going to have to wear the trousers, so he doesn't have to make any serious decisions. Otherwise nothing will get done."

"Thanks for the advice," I grinned, "Just to clarify. I normally have to make the decisions, but this time let him wait?"

"Right! Oh and Bella?"

"Yes?"

Tanya smiled at me again, but this time it was a bit sad, "If I can't date him and make him happy, I'd want it to be you who can."

"Thanks Tanya." I grinned, "I have a feeling we could be friends."

"I hope so," she smiled ruefully back, then left to discuss clothing designs with Alice.

I remembered that conversation when I went to bed that night, resolving that if he still hadn't said anything to me by the end of the next day I would confront him about it, giving him space be damned.

Unfortunately the next day, I felt really ill and couldn't get out of bed. I felt horrible and when Alice touched my forehead she squealed and pulled away.

"Ew Bella, you're burning up!"

"What?" Edward's voice was urgent.

"She's really hot. I think she has a fever." Alice explained, looking worried.

I groaned, rolled over, and chundered all over the sand, just outside of the sleeping area.

"EW!" Screeched Alice and backed away, "Sorry Bella, but I never was cut out to be a nurse." And with that she ran away.

Edward hurried over and put his own hand on my forehead, pulling it away sharply.

"Jeez, Alice was right; you could fry an egg on that." He said looking down and smiling at me softly.

"Sunny side up please," I croaked and he chuckled at me.

"You just lie here, and try not to worry too much," he said, biting his bottom lip and looking worried himself, "Also, stay wrapped up in the blanket. Let's try and sweat the fever out."

"Ok," I whispered.

"Try and sleep, my Bella," he said softly, stroking my forehead, "And I'll get something for you to throw up into."

I rolled over and tried to do what Edward asked.

But my dreams were plagued with strange people and places popping up out of nowhere, then disappearing again. At one point I woke up, only to throw up into the basket thing that was next to me.

I lay there in a dazed stupor, unsure if I was really awake or hallucinating, and I slowly became aware of voices nearby, hushed so that I wouldn't hear. Except I still could.

"I'm not sure if she can survive. I mean, we have no drugs, and we have no idea what has caused this. What if she gets worse?" It sounded like Jasper but I wasn't sure.

"Don't, Jasper, I couldn't stand it if anything went wrong with her. We have to try to get the fever down. I wish I'd listened more to Dad." Edward's voice was tortured and I wished I could reach out and touch him, soothe him, tell him that I'd be OK. But in this world of half-waking, half-sleeping that seemed like the hardest thing to do.

"Don't beat yourself up Edward," came a softer voice; Alice, "There is nothing you can do, except what you are doing now. She will pull through. I know Bella and she is strong. Have faith."

"I can't stand to lose her!" Edward cried desperately, "Alice, I think I'm in love with her. She consumes my every thought, and she even appears in my dreams."

"You love her." Alice summed up, succinctly. At this point I knew I must be dreaming, as Edward couldn't love me. It was impossible, in every situation.

"I think I do, Alice. I love her!" It sounded like a revelation to him, which was strange, but then I was in fact dreaming so things could be a bit weird.

Going along with this idea, I thought that I could tell Edward that I loved him too.

"Edward," I croaked out.

"Bella," he appeared instantly at my side, confusing me for a second.

"It's ok," I slurred, "Don' worry. I love you toooo. So is ok if you love me."

"That's great Bella. Go back to sleep."

" 'Kay," I mumbled, "Will you sing me my lullaby?"

"Sure." He smiled and started humming it while stroking my forehead at the same time.

"Love you Edward." I murmured, as I drifted off.

When I woke up, I was greeted by the weirdest sight of all. Somehow, Charlie had managed to get onto the island.

"Dad?" I said in shock.

"Bella?" He asked, and I smiled at the sound of his voice, even if it sounded confused.

"Have you come to rescue us?" I asked, hopefully.

"There is no rescue party Bella," Charlie said gently.

"Then how did you get here? Dad, what is going on?"

"Don't worry Bella, everything is going to be alright." He said soothingly.

" 'Kay, Dad. Hey, guess what? I met a guy, Dad. His name is Edward."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He has the most amazing red hair and really beautiful green eyes. I love him."

"And does he love you back?" Charlie asked, sounding very amused.

I sighed, "I don't know. I want him to. I mean, he likes me, because he told me, but I don't think he loves me. I'm not loveable."

"Don't be silly my Bella. Of course you are loveable. I love you. I'm a hundred percent certain that Edward loves you too."

"How do you know?" I sniffed, looking into his eyes.

"Because I already know Edward. He does love you."

"Thanks Dad. You always know the right thing to say. I love you."

"I love you too, my love." Charlie leaned in and kissed me very softly on the forehead, then he seemed to dissolve and everything went black again.

I opened my eyes once again, and there was a huge teddy bear standing over me, blinking at me comically.

"Hell Bells, what have you got yourself into?" It boomed, before bursting out laughing at his joke, obviously delighted at it. I wondered for a second what the joke was, as it wasn't very clear to me at all, but then I realised that there was a much more pressing problem; namely a teddy bear was talking to me.

"What's going on? Why is a teddy bear talking to me?" I asked no one in particular.

"Aw Bella! Don't you recognise me?" The bear asked, looking forlorn.

"Yes!" I replied suddenly, inspiration striking me like a lightning bolt, "You're my old teddy Walter!"

"I am?" It asked in astonishment.

"Of course you are! Come and give me a hug. I've missed you Walter."

Walter complied, grumbling under his breath, "Walter? What kind of a name is Walter? If I had a teddy I'd call it Emmett junior or something."

"Hush, Walter, you're ruining the moment." I grabbed him by the neck and hung on tight, as if he would save me from all my fears. Fears that I couldn't quite name at the present moment, but that knew were lurking, ready to strike.

"Um, Bella, you're strangling me." Walter told me in a strained voice, "Hard I know, with my beef, but you're surprisingly strong."

"Does it matter? It's not like you need air. You're only a teddy bear!" I told it, grasping him more firmly, as he struggled to get away.

"No, Bella. I actually need air," he gasped, pulling harder now. I clung all the more tightly; I didn't want Walter to leave me, not now that he'd only just come back.

"What's going on over here?" Came a concerned voice, reaching my ears as if it were a tendril of mist, or something equally substantial. However it was a voice I recognised.

"Edward!" I called, "My teddy came back. Walter is here! Look!"

"Oh, wow, Bella. I see," he said, sounding amused, "But maybe you should let him go a bit."

"But then he will leave me again and I will be all alone." I felt tears filling my eyes at the thought, "I don't want Walter to leave me again, Edward. I've only just found him."

"Don't worry Bella; Walter isn't going to leave you. He will stand next to me, OK?" I felt cool fingers prise my arms from around Walter's neck. I resisted for a few seconds, but then I felt my strength give out, and let go.

"OK," I murmured, "But if Walter leaves, it's your fault Edward."

"I understand," he said, smiling, "But don't you want to sleep Bella? Just rest your eyes and relax. OK. Walter can lie beside you if you want."

"Yes please," I muttered, as sleep overwhelmed me, brought on by his soothing words.

"Do I have to?" Walter whined, looking like a sulky child. "She's already strangled me once today."

"Yes." Edward said firmly, "You're getting a bit of a temperature too, so it's probably a good thing that you rest up."

"Fine," Walter pouted, crossing his arms, but he still lay down next to me. I patted his arm, then rolled over and let oblivion overcome me.

**EPOV**

"Tanya, can I speak to you?" I called, running to catch up with her.

"Sure," she replied, stopping and turned, greeting me with a smile, "What do you want?"

"Well, I kind of just told Bella I love her. I don't know if she'll remember when she comes out of her fever, but she just thought I was Charlie, her Dad, so she is hallucinating pretty badly, but basically I was just wondering if it was OK if I could say that to her. I know it's true now. Alice explained the symptoms and I have all of them, but we have only just broken up and I was wondering if you wanted me to wait for a bit, so that it doesn't look like a rebound or something. And anyway, you are really good with the whole relationship thing, or so Alice tells me, so I also kind of want to know if it is too soon or anything, as we aren't really going out or anything."

"Edward, calm down; you're babbling. A bit like I was when I spoke to Bella." Tanya chuckled a little bit. "Now, I don't know what Bella told you of our talk. Probably nothing, as she has a tendency to bottle things up. But basically, I gave the pair of you my blessing. And who knows whether it is too early or not, that depends on the relationship, so you just have to decide when it feels right. Alice and Jasper say it to each other, but Emmett and Rosalie don't even though their feelings are just as strong. It really depends on you. Edward, you need to do something you don't normally do: trust your gut. You'll be fine."

I exhaled in relief, "Thanks, Tan; I really think that makes things clearer, in a weird sort of way. By the way, I'm really glad you and Alice are friends again."

"Me too." She smiled, "I'd forgotten how hyper she is though. Oh, just so you know, she is getting a little feverish. I think Bella is passing her bug around. You might want to put Alice to bed."

"OK, I'll talk to her in a bit." I noticed that Bella was awake, and seemed to be determined to squeeze the life out of Emmett; I thought I should intervene before she succeeded, because I didn't think she would be happy if she actually did kill him.

"I'll catch you later Tanya," I said and she laughed again, murmuring something like 'whipped' under her breath.

"What was that?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," she trilled angelically, and strolled off into the forest, giggling under her breath.

"Great," I muttered, then went over to care for Bella, hoping that there wouldn't be too many casualties to this virus, or whatever that was going around.

Unfortunately, there were. By the end of the day, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Nessie and Victoria were alternately sweating and shaking next to Bella, while vomiting all over each other.

I couldn't trust them to make it through the night without something happening, so I resigned myself to keeping the fire alight, in order to keep myself awake, while the people who hadn't been affected slept elsewhere, except for Tanya, who turned out to be an excellent nurse.

But still; this was going to be fun...

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**AN: Again, sorry it's been awhile. I'd make excuses but there is no point.**

**We got half way to my goal last time, so maybe I coul get another 10 reviews for this chapter? That would be awesomeness!**

**Snce my beta got annoyed at me last time for forgetting to give her a shout-out, and I therefore had to so serious grovelling; All Praise the Almighty HopingForLove, for editing for me!**

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**Layla x**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Not mine. 'Nuff said.**

* * *

_Previously..._

_Unfortunately, there were. By the end of the day, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Nessie and Victoria were alternately sweating and shaking next to Bella, while vomiting all over each other._

_I couldn't trust them to make it through the night without something happening, so I resigned myself to keeping the fire alight, in order to keep myself awake, while the people who hadn't been affected slept elsewhere, except for Tanya, who turned out to be an excellent nurse._

_But still; this was going to be fun..._

* * *

Chapter 17 – An Awful Lot of Luck

**BPOV**

Bright light was pressing against my eyelids in a desperate attempt to gain entry, but I didn't want to let in yet. I felt horrible and I just wanted to sleep this feeling off. But at the same time, hunger pangs were making me curl up in the hope that it soothed them. It was only when my bladder decided to make itself known that I gave up the fight to try to go back to sleep and forget everything.

I inched my eyes open a slit. Then shut them again. The light was so bright and it was giving me a headache. It was as if I had just been out clubbing all night, and I was now suffering the consequences, but I had no memory of it. Instead, days of bright sunshine and messing about with a green eyed boy floated to the surface of my mind.

In a flash of realisation I remembered where I was and I sort of knew why I was feeling so crap, although the hunger pangs were a bit strange. I remembered that I hadn't been able to keep any food down for a while and I wondered if feeling hungry meant I was better. However, that was put to one side, as vague recollections of Charlie being on the island mingled with a giant talking teddy bear.

_Boy, my dreams must have been really crazy, _I thought, hoping to God that they had in fact been dreams and not anything else.

I cracked open my eyes again and groaned at the blinding light.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," said a velvety voice, from fairly close by.

"I don't think beauty is quite the right word here." I grumbled, shielding my eyes and slowly levering myself into a sitting position, "What makes you so happy?"

"The first of my patients has survived, without any kind of medication. I think that is a cause for celebration, don't you?"

"How do you know I've survived?" I asked, "I could be hallucinating for all you know."

"Trust me, my Bella, you are very lucid. I have seen you when you are in the throes of a hallucination, as despite those times being very funny, you are now clearly not experiencing a hallucination."

"Are you always this wordy when you're happy?" I bitched; my headache was getting worse and I really needed a drink, "Do you have any water?"

"Sorry about that," Edward grinned apologetically, handing me a coconut shell filled with water, "I get like that when I'm really happy and as I've been worried about you for the past three days, I'm astonishingly happy right now. In fact I could do a happy dance."

"Please don't," I grimaced, "I feel like I went on a bender last night, so any dancing will not be appreciated. Wait. I was out for three days?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It didn't feel that long. But then, I'm not sure what was a dream and what actually happened. I hope it was all a dream."

"You'll be disappointed then," Edward stated, "What do you remember? I'll tell you, as long as I know, whether it was a dream or not."

"I'd rather not," I grimaced; thinking of the number of times I'd told Edward I loved him. It may have been true, but that didn't mean I wanted him to know that so early on in our non-relationship.

"Why? It's not like it's incredibly embarrassing. Well, it is, but it's the same for everyone else. Nessie has already thought that I was Dad and told me a million times that I'm 'the best daddy that ever walked the planet' and that she was going to buy me a new car as soon as she could find a car store on the island, even though there is no way she could afford one, once she has found that car store. Alice mistook me for Jasper and full on attacked me. It was all I could do to stop her taking her clothes off and try and seduce me." He shuddered, "That was just plain wrong."

"However, it just confirms my suspicions." I replied, thinking about the last night we'd spent on the ship, and the fact that Alice didn't come in until around three in the morning and proclaimed that she was 'dancing on air' at the top of her voice. She had been so excited, even though she wouldn't tell me what had happened that I worried she would wake someone else up beside me and get us all into trouble. She hadn't exactly divulged what had made her so happy, but I didn't need to be a detective to guess that it had been related to Jasper in some way. Then I just had to guess at how far they had gone in their relationship.

"What do you mean?" Edward said curiously.

I retold everything that had happened on that night, and explained that if Alice was that willing to take her clothes off, then it was highly likely that they had already progressed that far.

Edward shuddered a bit at the thought of his sister doing it, but didn't overreact like he would have if it had been Nessie we were talking about and not Alice.

"Now I'm curious," I said, looking at him.

"What?" he asked, looking over at the sickies, and grabbing a t-shirt. He took it over to the stream, and soaked it. I followed suit and together we bathed their foreheads, to try and cool them.

"Well, you seem way more relaxed about Alice than you do about Nessie, when what Alice is doing is technically worse than Nessie's few midnight strolls. Why?"

"Alice is the same age as I am, and therefore, if I've done them then I can't really have a go at her about it. Nessie is still underage, so what she is doing is illegal."

"In America maybe, but on the Island of Love? Edward, remember what you were doing when you were fifteen, and remember that it was also with a girl; Tanya."

"Why do the majority of our conversations hark back to this? I get that maybe I might slightly just a little bit being a teeny bit overprotective about Nessie, but she is my little sister. I'm supposed to be overprotective."

"Not so far as you scare the boys away. Just think about it and I'll say no more."

"Fine!" He grumbled, "I'll think about it."

"Good."

"Anyway," he said, smiling slyly, "What about these so called dreams of yours? You feel like spilling yet?"

"No."

"Aw, come on!" He pouted at me, "Please?"

I couldn't resist, but I did at least start with the least incriminating and feeling-displaying of them. "There was one, I think when my old teddy bear Walter, was enormous, and talking to me."

"Real. You mistook Emmett for Walter. I personally found it highly amusing."

"Oh joy. Did he suffer any permanent damage from the near strangling I gave him?"

"No more than he had already." Edward chuckled and once again I couldn't help but join in, "Any more?"

"Something about goblins building scaffolding on my face to try and cut my nose off?"

Edward looked at me funnily, as though I was the strangest person he'd ever known. "Dream, definitely. Now that I think of it, you were at one point mumbling something about goblins. But, seriously, that is one strange dream."

"It was more of a nightmare. Trust me. It was horrible. Goblins are not my thing."

"Clearly," he smirked.

At that moment, Victoria's eyes flew open, and she looked directly at me.

"James! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. Go away!"

"Why shouldn't I be here?" I said, humouring her.

"Laurent will know. He will come after you! Go, James, before he finds you. You know how jealous he is."

"But we are dating. And anyway, Laurent isn't here. He's a long way away."

"That's what he'd have you believe, but he just told me that if he saw you he would kill you, and then he walked off into the trees. It was like two minutes ago. James, he could come back at any second, and I don't want you to be hurt. Please leave. I love you too much."

"Hush," I soothed her, wiping my damp t-shirt across her forehead, and tried to reassure her. "It'll be OK, trust me. Nothing is going to happen to me. I love you too. Please calm down, and go back to sleep. Why does Laurent want to kill me?"

"Because we are together now. Don't you remember that I used to date him? That I dumped him when I met you, because it was love at first sight, but he didn't believe me? That we have had to keep our relationship quiet around him, which is hard because you two were best friends and still hang out a bit, and he is still incredibly bitter about what I did, because he thought I was the one. He never understood that I hadn't ever thought of him that way and therefore wasn't too upset when I dumped him. Please James, I couldn't stand to lose you. I thought I already had when I first told you that I was going on that cruise and you couldn't afford to come; you thought I was doing it just to get away from you. It took so much begging to get you back that for a while I thought that you were going to dump me. I really missed you though, and I annoyed everyone by telling them all about you and how wonderful you are. I love you and everything about you, even though you have got into a bit of trouble with the police before and I know that you can stand up to Laurent, but I don't want you to risk it. He seemed even madder than ever so please, just go away."

"I'll go if you calm down a bit, Victoria. I don't want to leave you when you are so agitated," I said, desperately trying to get her to calm down, as she was thrashing all over the place and her forehead was actually heating up a bit because of her worry for me, thinking that I was her boyfriend James in danger.

Almost immediately, Victoria tried to relax. It was clear that she was so deep into her hallucination that she believed that her beloved James wouldn't leave her side until she was quite calm. Indeed she was so effective at relaxing herself that it only took a few minutes before I was satisfied enough to leave her to re-wet the t-shirt I was using and return to tend to some of the others, although Victoria was my priority. I worried that Edward was ignoring her in favour of his sisters, as I knew that he had never much cared for Victoria, finding her shallow with similar airs to the cheerleaders that he had left behind at school when they embarked on the cruise.

I also cared for Jasper, except when he thought that I was a cavalry man from the civil war and started instructing on how best to ride the horse then ordered me into battle, reprimanding me for my poor horsemanship as I 'rode' away. In the end I left him to Edward, as besides having very little knowledge of the civil war, I wasn't interested in getting yelled at. Luckily for once, Edward agreed with me, claiming that I was still far too weak to have to suffer the stress of Jasper's remonstrations.

This meant that I had to give Nessie a sponge bath, after Alice threw up on her, which wasn't my favourite way of passing the time, as vomit turned my stomach almost as much as blood did. However, I didn't have enough food in my stomach to actually join the ranks of those chundering. But it also served to remind me that I hadn't actually washed since my bout of illness, so when Jake came back with some food, I passed him the t-shirt, and wandered off to the waterfall, to douse myself in water and try desperately to get rid of the feeling of un-cleanliness that had crept up over me during the day. Eventually it worked and I hurried back to Jacob, feeling guilty that I had just lumped nurse duty on him, without even asking him.

At times I had to slow down, as I was in danger of tripping or falling over something, but when I finally got back I practically sprinted to where he was as I had spotted him lying down in the sand, and it didn't look like he was just resting.

As soon as I got there, he threw up all over my feet, smiled weakly and then crashed out on the floor.

"Nice," I muttered, as Edward came over, having also left the sickies for a few minutes.

"Not another one," he groaned, grabbing his t-shirt to wipe the puke off my feet and Jacob.

"Do you know what it is?" I asked, resisting the urge to run to the sea and paddle in it for hours until I finally felt like I had got the sick off it.

"Some sort of virus. And I don't know how dangerous it is. Were you lucky, or is everyone going to recover? It doesn't help that I'm not feeling my best, and I have the most 'medical training' here."

"What's wrong with you?" I asked curiously, as I knew that Edward wouldn't make a fuss unless it was something serious.

He ran his hand through his hair, and blushed a little bit, "I've got diarrhoea. But it's really bad. I think it's more like dysentery." He whispered and I wished I hadn't asked.

"Can't we get anyone else to help?" I asked desperately. "I get that we still need to get food and stuff, but seriously we had plenty and we made a stockpile, so can't just one person sort that out, while the rest tend the ill people?"

"Tanya was helping, but when you got better she scarpered; I think she was worried about us or something."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for a start, you seem to be incredibly accomplished. You are an amazing nurse and although she didn't know that, I think she suspected that you would hang around, partly because of me and partly because of your selflessness."

"Getting a big head?" I teased, ignoring the second reason why I might stick around, not at all blushing at the first, as if I was honest it was partly true and I no longer cared that he noticed.

"Well, I wanted you to stick around as well," he grinned back and I laughed.

"Yeah, maybe, but you did get another thing wrong there. I would be a terrible real life nurse. To be honest the idea of vomit and poo makes me nauseous and blood makes me faint. The smell of it is just terrible."

"You can smell blood?"

"Yeah, it smells like iron and rust. Then I crash out."

Edward grinned, "Maybe you wouldn't be such a good nurse then."

"Definitely not!" I agreed.

There was silence for a few seconds, "Edward, can I ask you something?"

"Well technically you just did, but yes you can ask another question."

"Cocky. I just wanted to know why you wanted to be a doctor."

"That's not a question." I glared at Edward as he grinned at me, until he realised that his smart-ass comment wasn't welcome.

"This may sound really cheesy and completely clichéd, but, for me, it really is all about helping other people; seeing that I have saved their lives and made a difference to a family and their happiness. That is why I was, and still am, giddy about your survival, despite the fact that there are more ill people now than there was this morning."

"That's...beautiful."

He cocked an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes, why shouldn't it be? It doesn't matter that you are a walking stereotype; if it's what makes you happy, then there is no reason for you to not do it."

"Thanks Bella, that means a lot to me."

I blushed, and started focussing my attentions on Jacob, incredibly worried about him. He'd apparently been suffering from dehydration a bit the day before, so vomiting up what little liquid he'd consumed wasn't a good idea and I couldn't focus on anyone else while he was ill. His hallucinations scared me though; they appeared to be all about vampires and werewolves.

I spent all my time nursing Jacob, as he got worse. He couldn't even keep water down and he was constantly switching between being too hot and too cold, despite his burning forehead. I constantly had a wet cloth on it to attempt to cool it, but it didn't seem to make much difference.

Edward had enlisted the help of Tanya, as soon as he checked Jacob's temperature and found it to be higher than anyone else's. He left me to tend to Jake, while he and Tanya cared for everyone else. Slowly, one by one, people began to recover so that, despite Edward's worry, we so far had had no casualties. And no one else had gone down with the illness after Jacob. Edward was convinced that it was a plus, but at that point I couldn't care less. All I worried about was Jacob. His temperature wasn't going down at all and he had no sane moments; he lived constantly in another world, in which we had no access, and it terrified me.

I didn't move all day, except to drink and eat to keep my own strength up and because Edward insisted, as I was still weak from my own illness, or to re-wet Jacob's t-shirt. Eventually Edward forced me to lie down and sleep, but I resolved to sleep next to Jake, arguing with Edward that as I'd already had the illness, I was in no trouble of catching it again. I entreated him to sleep though, as I'd learned off Tanya that he hadn't slept all the previous night, from caring for us. He agreed reluctantly, with the proviso that I would wake him immediately if I knew anything to be worse with Jacob during the night. I agreed, silently knowing that there was no way in hell that I would. He needed to sleep too badly for me to deprive him of any more.

So it was with great trepidation that I lay down next to my cousin that night. I was certain that I wouldn't be able to sleep at all, such was my anxiety about Jake's health, but Edward had been right. I wasn't quite fully recovered and therefore while resting my hand on Jacob, for reassurance that he was still there physically, I soon dropped off into sleep.

It wasn't yet morning when I came back into consciousness, but I knew that the reason for my abrupt awakening was that something had changed with Jacob. On closer inspection, I noticed that his chest was no longer moving up and down underneath my hand. He had stopped breathing...

* * *

**AN: Eek! An epic cliffie! I'm sorry guys! Really. It's not my fault.**

**I have a problem. My exams are starting next week, and they literally will change my life if I don't do well, so I am going to focus on them. Don't worry - I haven't lost interest in this story at all, I just need to concentrate on passing, so ff is going to be on a backburner. I finish on 23rd June, so it is most likely that is when I will update again. So sorry for this!**

**Please Review!**

**Layla xxx**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Twilight = Stephenie Meyer's, not mine**

* * *

_Previously..._

_It wasn't yet morning when I came back into consciousness, but I knew that the reason for my abrupt awakening was that something had changed with Jacob. On closer inspection, I noticed that his chest was no longer moving up and down underneath my hand. He had stopped breathing..._

* * *

Chapter 18 – A Close Call

"Jacob!" I screamed, not caring about disturbing people. The only thing on my mind was the fact that Jacob wasn't breathing. Calling Edward was the last thing on my mind as I shook Jacob back and forth, begging him to wake up.

It was only when they dripped onto his breathless body that I realised tears were streaming down my face. I couldn't lose Jacob. He'd been my sun, my best friend for as long as I could remember. We'd made mud pies as kids, shared baths as our parents attempted to save money, been partners in crime and always, always, always been there for each other no matter whatever else might happen. He was going to be my maid of honour and I his best man. I couldn't lose him. Not after all we'd been through.

Only one thought came to mind in that instant. The kiss of life. The idea repulsed me, but it was the only way I could think of saving him. Hesitantly, I bent over him and pressed my lips to his. I blew air into his lungs and pulled away as quickly as possible, getting onto the less disturbing part of resuscitation. I pumped his chest, more gently than I should have because I knew that if I did it properly I could break his ribs and that was an added complication that we really didn't need right now.

I soon got over my revulsion as I carried on. My arms were burning and my mouth was dry. Sweat was pouring off me in my effort to save Jacob's life. I became aware that I was not alone, when a cool hand started rubbing circles in my back as I pumped Jake's chest, but I had no time for them. The longer that Jacob was out, he less chance I had of saving him.

I was bending over him, giving him yet another breath, when I felt him inhale by himself and at the same time his eyes popped open. I pulled away in shock and saw him smile weakly.

"Blimey, Bells, I knew we were close but I didn't think we were that close! Besides, technically we're family, and I'm taken."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You know, if I hadn't just saved your life, I would so hit you right now. Don't ever do that to me again!" I threatened.

"I'm sorry," he grinned, "But you do realise that I never really had any plans to die in the first place."

He started coughing and I immediately went to get water for him. He tried to sit up and I reached out to stop him, but to my surprise Edward got there first.

"No. You're not moving anywhere until you have got your strength up. You may be lucid now, but we don't really know how ill you are. Stay there." I was grateful that it had been Edward to reprimand Jacob at that point, as I guessed that he wouldn't want to listen to me, but he respected Edward's medical authority.

I was also grateful to Edward for his reassurance while I'd tried to resuscitate Jacob and his withdrawal to let Jacob and I have a few moments together when he woke up, even though it had been cut short by Jacob's coughing.

Once Jacob had subsided back into his bed, I brought him his drink and gave it to him slowly, knowing that too much water at once could be just as bad as not enough water. I could tell that he didn't appreciate being treated like a baby, but he didn't complain. I rather suspected that he might still be trying to get on Edward's good side, when it came to Nessie, but I didn't say anything as that was still a touchy subject between the two of them and Edward was still hanging around. In fact, once I'd finished giving Jacob his water he cleared his throat.

"What?" I looked up at him.

"Could you give Jacob and me a few seconds by ourselves? You should probably go and give Nessie a progress report in any case."

"Ok," I said, nonplussed, and went over to where Nessie was lying on the sand, gazing over to where Jacob was, sleep having completely abandoned her. When she saw me approaching she sat up straight away.

"How is he?" She asked in an urgent whisper.

"Better," I said and joined her in her sigh of relief.

"How much better?"

"He knows where he is and who everyone is, and his temperature seems to have gone down. Almost dying seemed to help with that." I said with a small smile.

"What!" She shrieked and I looked at her in alarm, partly because I didn't want the others to wake up and I didn't realise that she hadn't known about it.

"Sorry, Ness! I thought you knew."

"What happened?" She demanded fiercely.

"I woke up and he wasn't breathing. I screamed his name a couple of times, trying to get him to wake up. Then I did the only thing I could think of. I gave him the kiss of life. CPR. You know."

Suddenly I was embraced in a death grip.

"You saved him." Nessie whispered. "You saved his life. I can't thank you enough. I can't believe you did that for him. Seriously, I owe you one."

"Aw, don't Nessie. It was as much for me as for you. I mean, where would I be without my maid of honour?"

Nessie laughed, "Even so Bella, I really cannot thank you enough. I don't know what I'd do without him. You know, we spoke about our feelings to each other, like you asked and I really feel that it helped our relationship. I mean, we're saying 'I love you' to each other, and I know that I mean from all my heart."

"See, I told you that was the best course to follow and I'm glad you finally listened to me. It took you long enough."

"Sure, sure." Nessie agreed complacently and I smiled at the Jacob-ism she had picked up.

I looked up and noticed Edward walking over.

"If you want to go back to him, you can." He told me quietly. Nessie got up to move as well, but he held her down.

"No, Nessie, you will get to see him plenty long enough in the morning."

"But-" Nessie started arguing back.

I didn't wait around to listen to the debate that was sure to follow. It wouldn't be an ordinary argument, as both Edward and Nessie were smart enough to put their points forward without letting their emotions get the better of them, but as I walked away their whispers were getting more heated in their emotions so maybe I had been wrong in my assumption.

"Hey," I greeted Jake softly.

"Hey," he replied, smiling at me.

"What did Edward want?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"He – and this is going to sound weird – but he gave me his blessing when it came to me and Nessie. He said that my brush with death put our relationship into perspective. He also muttered something about not being able to say no to you." I saw the wicked glint in Jacob's eye as he said this, but I still couldn't help that my heart lifted at that.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you Jake! Just remember though that he still will not hesitate to throttle you if you hurt Nessie!"

"Yeah, he did warn me about that, but I told him that hurting Nessie was the last thing on my mind. I mean, why would I hurt the one thing that brought me happiness, anyway?"

I sniffed melodramatically, "Are you saying that I don't bring happiness to your life, Jakey? Oh, that cut deep!"

He laughed. "Goofball! You know what I mean. I guess it's the same for you and Edward."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said loftily, as if I was ignorant about the whole thing to do with me and Edward.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about Bella! I've seen you watch him with goo-goo eyes!"

"What!" I said indignantly, "I do not watch him with goo-goo eyes!"

"You do Bells, trust me I've seen it."

"Whatever," I said, looking away in a huff, as I really couldn't think of a suitable come back.

"Lame. Just lame." Jake said, amused.

"Go away Jake." I said, thoroughly ruffled. Normally I wouldn't let him to get to me like this and I would throw something back in his face, but it was the middle of the night and I was very tired. I actually curled up on my rug and tried to go to sleep.

"Aw, come on Bells, you know I do it 'cause I love you."

"So? I want to go to sleep now. Night night."

Jake seemed to have given up for now, because he was silent for a few minutes.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," he replied softly.

I cursed myself for being unable to hold a grudge against my favourite cousin as I rolled over to face him. He was lying there, watching me, and I gave him a soft smile to show him I had forgiven him, before closing my eyes and going to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up late and stretched luxuriously before checking around me. Jake was still asleep, but he looked a lot better than he had the night before and he was sleeping peacefully. I left him where he was and got up to see Edward hovering over the fire.

"Morning," I greeted him cheerily.

He grinned back, "Jake OK?"

"Sleeping," I replied, basking in the warm feeling his smile gave me.

"You?"

"Fine now. Anything good for breakfast?"

"Jasper caught some more fish this morning. He managed to get three." He added at my questioning look, "Here."

"Thanks," I took it and started eating.

"I heard you gave Jake your blessing last night and threatened him in case he hurt your precious Nessie." I teased gently.

"Yeah, I also told him why I was so protective about Nessie, apart from her looking almost exactly like me."

"Oh, yeah?" I said, not inviting him to say anything in particular, although my curiosity was awakened. It seemed that this was a sensitive subject, as he had never yet mentioned it before, but I also couldn't see why he might mention it now.

"Yeah. We were about seven and so Nessie was five. We went to a mall, and Alice got into a huge tantrum 'cause Dad wouldn't buy her something and then didn't let her go and look at the clothes. Then Emmett got distracted by sports stuff and the toys in the toy store. And no one noticed that Nessie had run off. We didn't notice for nearly three hours. And Nessie got severely traumatised; she thought that we had abandoned her and didn't love her anymore. When we found her, she was crying her eyes out, and then for the next few years she suffered from really bad abandonment issues. And because I was the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on her and making sure she didn't run off I felt horrible. When I found her she developed the biggest attachment to me so I couldn't exactly leave her at any point and that's why she is closer to me than the others and why I'm so protective of her." Edward's face was tortured as he told this story, but at the same time I could see that it was a load off his back. It wasn't a terrible story and it didn't have the problems that I thought it could have but it did explain a lot, and I understood some of the family's more cryptic comments that he had made over the time that I knew them.

Impulsively, I hugged him when he finished his story and he accepted it, partially collapsing into my shoulder for a few minutes. Once we done with our outpouring of emotion, we went back to what we were doing before.

"So..."

I looked up, "What?"

Edward smirked, his mood having undergone a complete one-eighty in the few minutes that I had been eating, "If I remember rightly, we didn't finish that conversation the other day about your dreams when you were ill."

I blushed, "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, but Bella, I want to know what and or who you dreamt about."

"Um, I don't really remember." I mumbled.

"Bull. Do you want me to tell you what I experienced and you can tell me a bit more about it?"

"No, not really." I said, attempting to feign nonchalance. Needless to say I failed epically.

"That's a shame," he whispered in my ear, causing my flush to deepen, "Because I would like desperately to talk about what happened."

"Like what?" I grumbled, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get out of it again.

"Your conversation with Charlie was very interesting." He smirked.

"Was that you by any chance?" I winced.

"It might have been."

I had suddenly had enough of him making me wriggle, and although I wasn't sure that I wanted him to know the depths of my feelings for him, he had said as Charlie that he was sure that 'Edward' loved me back. I didn't want to dance around him anymore either which was what I had been doing in the days before my illness.

"Edward?" I said, suddenly, and he must have noticed the change in my voice as he looked up, playfulness gone.

"Yeah?"

"D'you, maybe think that being ill had the same effect as alcohol?"

"What? Make you slur and be more clumsy than normal?"

"No, make me say stuff that I wouldn't normally say, because it takes away my inhibitions."

"Dunno Bella, you were the ill one and not me. Did you feel like that?"

"Yes, that's why I'm asking you." I was getting frustrated, because Edward was clearly not getting it, and that made me think that he was just saying that stuff as Charlie just to placate me, like I placated Victoria while she was ill.

"Well, it's possible. Why?"

I rolled my eyes. I was still too shy to actually say it aloud, and if Edward didn't get it then I wasn't going to enlighten him.

"It doesn't matter," I dismissed.

"Well, it clearly does, as you wouldn't have brought it up otherwise."

"Don't worry about it Edward. It was just a passing fancy. Nothing exciting. Don't we have work to do?"

"Well, I'm sure it can wait a few hours; we've survived this far so a few hours won't kill us."

"Try saying that to Jake!" I snapped, and Edward drew back completely confused by my change of mood. I was annoyed that he didn't understand what I was trying to say and upset that he could very well not feel the same.

"Sorry," he apologised sincerely, "That was thoughtless of me. But Bella don't do anything too strenuous. You are still recovering from your illness, as are most people. We are all having a gentle day, except for Rose and Mike who are doing all the wood collecting. They are also clearing areas in the wood on the floor. We discovered a piece of metal half buried in the sand. We don't know where it came from or anything but if we sharpen it we could use it as a primitive saw, so we thought that we could build separate huts and make some sort of village. We would still eat out here on the beach, as it is more open, and there is less chance of setting things on fire, but the woods are generally more covered, so we would get less wet from the rain, as we have been quite lucky not to get so much now, and also it would be more private for those of us who are couples, though one set I'm not so pleased about."

"You did give them your blessing, Dad." I reminded sardonically, "So what is there that I can do?"

"Well, I miss your cooking, but right now everyone has just had breakfast, so don't worry about it yet. Nessie is plaiting vines to make stronger rope. Maybe you could go and help her with that?" he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." I smiled at him softly, so show I was sorry for my outburst of temper, then left to find Nessie. I found her next to Alice, who had a small twig which she was using as a needle, trying to thread grass into a skirt, not having much luck. She kept huffing with frustration as the grass split.

"Alice, I think your twig is a little large. Didn't the prehistoric people use bone needles?"

"I'm not using bone!" she squealed, looking disgusted at the thought, "Not yet anyway." She added as yet another piece of grass split.

I laughed at her pout, as though she could charm the grass to stay together.

"Anyway, Bella," Nessie said, having passed me some vines to plait, "What's up with you and Edward? He was so happy when you told him you loved him even though he thought your brains were addled by your illness."

"Ugh," I groaned, "I tried to suggest that what I'd said while I was ill was what I would say if I wasn't so shy or inhibited and he didn't get it, which was just annoying. He didn't seem to understand was that I was trying to say that all I'd said while ill was the truth. Wait...why would he be happy when I said that?"

"Duh, because he loves you back." Alice said, looking at me with an _Are you stupid? _face.

"He said it, didn't he? While you were ill? Multiple times."

"Yeah, but I thought he was just playing along so I would relax more and my body could do more to heal myself. Just like I did with Victoria."

"No. He wouldn't placate you like that. OK, he would, but he did actually mean it there. Trust me; I've grown up with him and he was never that happy when Tanya told him that she loved him."

"Told who what?" Tanya asked, coming up.

"We're trying to persuade Bella that Edward does actually love her and it's not just her imagination or anything."

"Hell, yeah. Jesus, Bella, Edward has never been that attentive to me or swayed so much just by what I've said and he loved me. He is definitely in love with you."

"Really?" I said, unable to keep the scepticism out of my voice.

"YES!" All three of their voices resounded back at me and I finally let myself believe that just maybe Edward loved me too...

* * *

EPOV

Bella's words were still playing on my mind, as I pottered around helping Jake and making sure that he didn't even try to get up. He needed rest and although he complained bitterly, that was what he was getting today.

"What's up mate?" Jake asked, noticing how preoccupied I was.

"Bella," I confessed, unable to keep my thoughts to myself for once, "She said that the illness may have made her less inhibited, but I don't understand what she meant and when I asked her why, she clammed up and wouldn't say anything more. I'm so confused."

"Oh, you idiot!" Jacob exclaimed, "She was trying to tell you that she loved you, but she was too shy. What did she tell you a billion times while she was ill? That she loved you! But she is afraid that you don't feel the same, so she didn't want to say it outright."

"But, I told her back," I said, still perplexed.

"Yeah, but she told me about Victoria, and how she was trying to stop her worrying. She probably thought that you were doing the same. She loves you mate, trust me. I have never seen her so happy, except when she is with you."

I thought about this, and I had to admit that what Jacob said made sense. Could Bella Swan really love me?

* * *

**AN: I'm back! As of today I am free of exams!**** *skips happily* Now all I have to do it wait for results :S**

**Please Review!**

**Layla x**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from Twilight is not mine. However I do own the plot. Yay me!**

_Previously..._

"_Yeah, but she told me about Victoria, and how she was trying to stop her worrying. She probably thought that you were doing the same. She loves you mate, trust me. I have never seen her so happy, except when she is with you."_

_I thought about this, and I had to admit that what Jacob said made sense. Could Bella Swan really love me?_

* * *

Chapter 19 –Together At Last

BPOV

I shook my head. I could hardly believe that Edward loved me, but if he hadn't been trying to appease me while I was ill, then he had in fact told me that he was in love with me just as much as I was in love with him. It was astounding and amazing, and although I hadn't thought it possible, my heart swelled even more with affection for Edward.

I had to see him. I had to hear the words from his mouth in his delicious velvet voice.

The compulsion overcame me quicker than I could blink and before I could even register it, my body had taken over and I was running towards the fire pit.

"Hey, hey. You know you shouldn't be doing too much exercise. That definitely counts as exercise." Edward grinned at me, catching me as I tripped while skidding to a halt as I reached him, "However, if that is always the consequence, then you might have to keep doing it."

"What consequence would that be?" I asked, trying to sound coy and fluttering my eyelashes. I felt like an idiot, but according to the magazines it worked, so I wasn't going to stop.

"The flush that the exercise has given your cheeks and the fact that I had to catch you." He gave me a crooked grin and I may have melted into his arms at that point. No, he had not yet let go of me.

"Well," I fluttered my eyelashes again, "Maybe I should do a bit more running. I like being caught." But Edward's smile had gone to one of concern.

"Do you have something in your eye, Bella?"

"No!" I cried, stopping fluttering my eyes at once, "I thought I was being seductive."

"Bella, you don't need to act like a cheerleader to be seductive." He laughed, "You're plenty good enough at that already!"

"Really?"

"Of course, Bella." He whispered, "Why else would I have fallen so hard and so fast for you?"

The words hit me like a ton of bricks and I remembered why I had been in such a rush to see Edward in the first place.

"Edward, I have something to tell you," I said softly, gazing into his deep green eyes.

"And I you," he replied, just as quietly.

"Edward; I ... I ... love you." I gulped as I said it, hoping that his feelings were as Alice said and not what I'd thought they were.

"What?" He said, looking as though he hadn't heard me. I almost screamed in frustration; I didn't think I could stand to say it again. Luckily, I just saw the glimmer of laughter in his eyes.

"You heard me," I smiled at him.

"I know; I just wanted to hear you say it again."

"Sorry; one time offer only." I replied nonchalantly.

"That's a shame, seeing that I am desperately in love with you as well." He said intensely, staring deep into my eyes.

"Maybe I can revise my offer," I whispered, holding his gaze as though my life depended on it.

"I'd like that," he smiled softly, "I love you, my Bella."

"I love you Edward. With every breath I take."

Before I knew it our lips had collided once again, for the first time since the meadow, and I had to admit to myself that despite thinking about it every day since then my memory had not done the kiss justice.

I could feel him carefully attempting to open my lips slightly and I responded opening them and letting him gain access to my mouth. He deepened the kiss exponentially and if I thought that there had been fireworks before, that was nothing compared to what was happening to my insides now. I felt my breath coming in short gasps, mingling with his. He tasted irrefutably of what I had long since come to associate with sunshine and warmth. He tasted of everything the word Edward had come to mean to me. I was literally in heaven.

Eventually though, Edward pulled away. I pouted at him, but he just smiled.

"Bella, if we carry on making out like that, I'm going to have a serious problem. As it is, I'm glad these shorts are very baggy."

I grinned back, "Do you need to go for a dip in the stream?" I flirted, "Because I'm feeling very dirty right about now."

"Let's go!" Edward said eagerly, grabbing my hand and pulling me up the beach and through the forest to the waterfall.

However, when we got there, the mood was abruptly broken as we saw Emmett and Rosalie in a very compromising position.

We stood there, frozen and I looked at Edward, asking him with my eyes what we should do, still very aware that our hands were clasped. It was obvious that neither Emmett nor Rosalie were in any position to notice us.

Edward looked at our feet. We were currently standing on a bit of floor that was, typically free of twigs that we could stand on, but when he looked behind us his face lit up; I knew exactly what he was planning to do.

We crept back silently, hands still clasped, until we could no longer see them then Edward threw back his head and laughed obnoxiously, and I pretended to trip, making as much noise as humanly possible.

Of course, this fake trip led to me losing my balance for real, and I very nearly fell over. This caused Edward to chortle without any pretence, and still laughing together, we loudly made our way to the waterfall pool again, having given the loved-up couple enough time to spring apart, and attempt to put their clothes back on.

"Hi guys," Edward said casually, as we strolled over, every pore of him exuding a confidence that did not suggest that we had just saved their dignity, for now at least. But I saw that same wicked glint in Edward's eye and knew that Emmett would be in for it later. I smiled secretly to myself. _Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation..._

I decided then and there that Rose would not be left in peace either. I may not be able to catch the brothers' friendly ribbing, but I could at least trade some banter with Rose on this subject. That would be a very interesting conversation.

"Hey," Rose replied, smoothing her hair in an equal attempt to look casual.

"Eddie! Way to go man!" Emmett boomed, pointing at our entwined hands, "He has finally scored some babe on this island!"

"Congratulations guys!" Rosalie squealed. Yes squealed. Emmett's lovin' was clearly having a great effect on her outward personality and I, for one, was incredibly happy for them.

"Thanks," Edward grinned as I blushed and hid in his shoulder.

"Took ya long enough!"

"Thank you Emmett, but not all of us have the mindset of a rabbit." Edward said coolly.

"Sorry mate. I'm just happy for you, you know."

"I know, Em, but please be a little more subtle." Edward remarked drily, knowing that subtle had never been part of Emmett's repertoire.

"Oh, and for God's sake, don't tell Alice that you know!" I added at the thought of her hurt little face if she found out that she wasn't the first to realise that we had finally gotten together. "Act all surprised tonight when we tell everyone."

"Fo' sho' biatch."

"Really Emmett?" Edward asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I'd make an awesome gangster. Wouldn't I Rosie?"

"Of course you would," she replied, placating him and planting a soft kiss on his lips, "Now, I think we need to go and inspect our hut."

"Good idea!" Emmett cried, his eyes lighting up. I smirked. I had a pretty good idea of what 'inspect' meant to Emmett, even if there still wasn't much of a hut to go to.

He bounded off, dragging Rose along with him, and we were left in blissful silence.

"Alone at last." Edward murmured in my ear, echoing my thoughts completely. I shivered at the sound of his velvety voice and his warm breath tickling my ear.

"I hope you don't still have a little problem anymore." I said unsteadily, a little breathless at his proximity.

"It's hardly little, my Bella," he joked, "And no, there is no longer a problem. Seeing my brother like that with a girl that I already consider as my sister put me off completely."

"I'm glad it did the same to you as it did to me then." I grinned, "But I could still do with a wash. I feel dirty."

"I'm sure you are dirty!" Edward said huskily.

"Um, Edward, as much as I love you and all that, I'm not as...forward as Rosalie. Can we therefore take it at our pace and not theirs?"

"Of course, my Bella."

"Also, I, er, haven't been that _far_ yet, and I'm not really sure that I'm ready for it." I could feel my face heating up as I spoke; I wasn't exactly practised at talking about this kind of thing.

"Bella, love, we can move at whatever pace you are most comfortable at. I'm in no rush. That you're happy is more important to me. But..." He smiled cheekily at me, "When you blush like that... well, I'm afraid my little problem is back."

"Oh, go and sort it out." I sighed exasperatedly, slapping him gently on the arm. "I'll wait here, just in the water, _facing away, _while you do it."

I reluctantly let go of Edward's hand for the first time and he moved off, going towards the waterfall. As much as I was tempted to go back on my word, I stayed where I was, gently sluicing myself with water, trying to wash off all the grime that I felt had accumulated. It was times like these that I really missed my home comforts such as soap and shampoo. My hair was horribly greasy, and I didn't know how Edward could find it attractive at all. I kept it up in a ponytail constantly, to try and hide its hideousness.

It suddenly struck how much like I had acted as though we were an old married couple. I'd just got frustrated at him for acting like a letch and he hadn't been too bothered by it. It made me wonder at how easily and quickly we had slipped into couple mode. It was like we had been going out for months or even years already and yet I didn't even know if we were 'dating'. It didn't bother me, but the fact that we were so comfortable together did make me pause for a minute.

I was just about to dip below the water, to at least wet my hair, when a pair of strong arms grasped my calves and pulled me under. I shrieked a little, twisting in the water to see Edward, a smile on his face as he pulled my legs out from beneath me even further. I narrowed my eyes at him and lunged but he read my intentions on my face and slipped out of the way, a bubble of laughter escaping from his lips.

"_Oh it's on!" _I mouthed at him and that started a massive water fight. I waited until Edward was about to surface then slapped my arm against the surface of the water, causing a tidal wave to hit him as he tried to draw breath.

He picked me up and threw me back in the water. Several times. In fact, it seemed to be his favourite way of getting me back.

We ended up spending the whole morning frolicking in the pool. Our kisses, (and they happened a lot, normally when Edward was just about to throw me back in the water) got more and more heated, but Edward knew not to push me too far as I had requested. Besides, we had only officially been together for all of a few hours. Thus despite his 'little problem' that kept occurring, he was happy to move at my pace, and not his.

After a short stop at the fire pit for a quick lunch, we headed back into the jungle on the pretext of looking for more wood for the cabins. There were to be six to start with; all the couples were to go together, except for Edward and I (for now). I was to share with Tanya and Victoria, but Mike and Edward were to live separately. They had chosen it that way, because they knew that girls liked to gossip but if either of the boys got into a relationship (Ahem...) the other wouldn't intrude on their privacy. It seemed like a good plan to me as I could go and visit Edward when I was ready to take such a step.

At that point in time, we had only just cleared the area in the forest that we were going to use. I thought it was a really quaint idea; it would be just like we lived in a village in the woods. We would still use the fire pit, because if we saw a ship, even though it was unlikely, as we never had look-outs or anything, we'd want the ship to see that there was people living on the island and it wasn't uninhabited.

I didn't know why we never had lookouts; it would be a very good idea to have a post on the top of the island to look out for ships, as none of us wanted to stay here indefinitely. We were all missing our creature comforts. Only the day before I'd become ill, I'd woken in the middle of the night to hear a stifled sob. Nessie had been crying quietly to herself.

* * *

"_Hey, Nessie, what's up?"_

"_I miss Mom," she sniffled, "I mean, I knew I'd be away from her for a long time, but I thought I'd be on the ship and not here, and obviously here it's really hard. I don't like it. I mean, I haven't washed my hair in like two weeks and it's so rank, and I just want to go home!"_

"_Hey, Nessie, I know it's really hard and I think we're all struggling at the moment. I miss my parents too, you know."_

"_And, to make it worse, my period started yesterday and I feel all gross because all I can do to stop the flow is use the bog roll that we have left, and in case you hadn't noticed, there's not much. Stupid Emmett."_

"_Emmett?" I asked, hiding a smirk, "What'd he do?"_

"_Used like, a whole roll when he got diarrhoea. He wouldn't shut up about it either." She giggled through her tears._

"_Well, if you'd have told one of us about it, we could have helped. We've probably had a few more than you have." I smiled gently._

"'_Kay, I guess."_

"_Are you felling any better?" I asked softly._

"_Well, I still miss Mom and Dad, but I think I can cope with it now."_

"_Atta girl. No more midnight tears OK? If you feel that bad, tell one of us, and we can help you through it. I'm sure Alice or Rosie or even Tanya and Victoria won't mind."_

"'_Kay," she said again, and lay down, quickly falling asleep. I watched her for a while, to make sure that she really was peaceful then went to sleep myself._

* * *

But, we didn't have them, and to be honest, I didn't think we could spare the man-power at that point. We were all busy with something, and there was always someone on the beach. Obviously if a boat passed the other side of the island we wouldn't know about it, but I think if it passed this one, someone might see it.

But it had got me thinking, and as we went 'wood collecting', I couldn't stop wondering about our true chances of getting rescued. I remembered what Jasper had said two weeks ago, but I wondered how his predictions had changed now that we had been there for so long. Did our parents think we were dead? Had they even noticed that we were missing yet? The cruise wasn't due to finish for another month, and I worried that our disappearance hadn't yet been noticed. I wanted to talk to someone.

Eventually Edward and I ended up in our meadow. We sat down, and Edward starting playing with my hair. I was slowly being lulled into sleep, when I remembered what I wanted to say to him.

"Edward?" I sat up from where I had been lying in his lap.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think that there is much chance of people finding us here at any point? I mean, we have only been here a couple of weeks, but do you think that people would have given up the search yet, if they have even noticed we are gone? Because there is a very high chance that we could be dead."

"What makes you ask this, love?"

"Well, I was thinking about it when we went to collect wood, because the huts aren't on the beach, so we are less likely to be seen if a ship goes past."

"Well, I don't know about your parents, but I don't think Mom or Dad would ever give up until they found our bodies."

"But surely they would realise that if you had drowned, they would never find them. So they might give up. Because I know that Dad would be the same. He wouldn't want to believe that I was dead unless he saw my body."

"It's possible that they would give up quite quickly then," Edward conceded, "But we could always get spotted by a random passing ship. But I don't want you to give up hope that we will never leave this island. I'm positive that we will someday go home."

"But you don't know when?"

"How could I Bella? But I promise you that one day you will see America again."

"Thank you."

"For what?" Edward asked, looking a little confused.

"For at least trying to alleviate my fears." I gave a soft kiss on the lips before lying back down.

"Bella," he said intensely, "I promise you, that one day, we will leave this island and we will rejoin the modern world, and you won't have to hand-wash my clothes ever again."

"They're hardly clothes anymore anyway, more like scraps of material." I scoffed, "Alice had better hurry up with her 'classic' designs."

"I think you're missing the point slightly, love." Edward grinned.

"Eh, maybe. But, if I'm honest, right now I don't really mind where I am because I'm with you."

"You know Bella? I was just thinking exactly the same thing."

Later that day, as I was lying down in our communal bed, I couldn't help thinking that was true. I was with Edward and I knew that I loved him. We had found a way to survive, and one that would last, for we had a running supply of fresh water, a continual source of food and fire, and every day we found new ways to adapt to the challenges facing us. I felt as though we had passed the critical stage in our survival, and now it was a question of endurance. We could live here indefinitely until someone arrived to rescue us. And that seemed to me to be the best place to be.

The End

* * *

**AN: Don't kill me for not giving you any warning of the imminent ending! I wasn't aware of it myself until I wrote this chapter. But this was the best place for me to end. Bella and Edward's story had played out to the full, and I didn't want it to become boring by extending it pointlessly.**

**BUT, and this is a big but, (Lol, butt - yes I am that mature :P) there is an epilogue, and there is a possibility of a sequel. I will put a poll on my profile shortly.**

**Please tell me what you think of the story, and I will post the Epilogue as soon as it is beta'd.**

**Review?**

**Layla x**


	21. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. It belongs to the ineffable Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

Epilogue

I slowly came to, very aware of someone peppering light kisses all over my face.

"Mmm, I could get used to that," I murmured, smiling with my eyes still tight shut.

"You already are my love." Hearing his reciprocating smile, I opened my eyes to see my gorgeous bronze-haired husband smiling down at me.

"I love you," I told him, causing his grin to widen.

"And I love you, my Bella."

I suddenly became aware of a growing pressure on my bladder.

"Ugh, nature calls. I'll be glad when this sucker pops. No more Edward; I've had enough." I heaved myself out of bed and my back groaned as it took on its daily load.

"Aw, but Bella, that means no more private time." The disappointment in Edward's voice was comical, and I forced myself not to look at him so I wouldn't have to see his pout; I couldn't resist it. But I also had to hold back a flinch myself at that thought.

"We'll figure something out;" I promised, "Maybe Emmett and a couple of rocks will work."

"Bella, you wouldn't!" he cried, shocked, his hands flying to cover his sensitive area.

"Oh, I would. Make you feel some of the pain that I feel every time this happens." I gestured to my rotund stomach, then rushed out of the door as the pressure on my bladder became unbearable.

When I got back, I noticed the two other pallets in the other side of the cabin were empty.

"Where are EJ and Charlie?" I asked.

"Probably playing with the others on the beach. You slept in quite late today. And we've already got enough fruit and stuff so unless Emmett scarfed the lot again during one of his midnight snacks or Jasper is teaching them to spear-fish, that's most likely what they're doing. We'll see them at breakfast anyway."

"We're going there now right?" I asked, suddenly famished.

"Of course, my Bella, if that is what you want." Edward smiled and supported me as we slowly made our way to the beach. I couldn't believe that even after ten years, we hadn't worn a track between the 'village' and the beach, the number of times we travelled that way daily. As it was Edward had to help me clamber over fallen logs and helped clear the way for me.

"Momma!" EJ ran over to me as I emerged from the tree line, "I got a fish for you!"

"Thanks sweetie," I smiled, looking into his excited six year old face, "How did you know that was exactly what I wanted this morning for my breakfast?" Despite the fact that EJ was Edward's miniature in every way, he still had my capability to blush, and he demonstrated it then, very cutely.

"'Cause you're my momma?" he asked, shyly.

"Of course I am. And you're my EJ," I kissed him lightly on the nose as Edward took his fish and put it on the fire for me.

"Where's Charlie, EJ?" he asked.

He made a face. Playing dress up with Cora and Amy. And Aunty Alice." Alice and Jasper's two little girls were about as obsessed with fashion as a five year old and a seven year old could be when they were trapped on an island with only the clothes that Alice had made. Of course, Alice constantly encouraged them, but I personally didn't think they needed it.

"Can you go and tell them that breakfast will be ready I imminently?" I asked him.

"Immi- what?"

"Soon," Edward replied, "Very soon."

"Thanks Daddy. Momma always says long words I don't understand!" and he scampered off to find his sister and cousins.

Soon everyone was gathered around the fire pit, arranged in family groups, except for Tanya and Victoria. Mike had unfortunately died about three years after we'd first arrived from one of the tropical virus's that sporadically swept through the group. Even though he hadn't been the loudest or most talkative member of our group he had still played a key part in its dynamic, and his absence was still missed. Edward had taken it especially hard, as his role as island doctor meant he felt that he was at fault for not saving him, no matter how many times everyone told him that he couldn't have helped it and it could happen to anyone. None of us were ever free of that danger, and I could never believe how lucky we were that it had only been on person so far.

Tanya always jokingly referred to herself as the crazy cat lady of the island, and despite her total normalcy and the lack of cats, she was perfectly happy. Victoria was still holding onto the hope that one day she would be reunited with her precious James, but at least neither of them never got jealous of our relationships, and it wasn't like we ever left them out of most of the group activities. They were perfectly content as they were.

Alice and Jasper were standing by Edward and our kids, with their two, while Rosalie was trying to break up Emmett's wrestling match with Carlisle Junior, their eight year old son, named in honour of the Cullens' father while their daughter Amanda, his twin looked on with an expression of disdain that could have been cut from Rosalie's face and pasted onto her little one. While CJ was similar to Emmett, Amanda was all Rose; she had her radiant blond hair, he piercing blue eyes and came complete with her attitude.

Finally there was Jake and Nessie, with their one son, Billy who was only three and who idolised EJ, trying to copy all he did.

I gazed at all our family and once again found myself wondering at our fortune. We were all healthy and our group had swelled from eleven to eighteen, and we couldn't have asked for more. The only person who still wanted to leave with all her heart was Victoria, but that was because he heart belonged somewhere else. The rest of us had realised that after ten years there was very little likelihood of us being rescued, and although we wanted our children to experience modern life, they didn't crave it, in fact they hardly noticed they didn't have it and yet they couldn't be happier. They were all sturdy young children without a trace of fat on any of them, and they all had the necessary skills to survive; how to climb a coconut or banana tree; how to chop wood; how to catch prey; how to spear a fish. I had once tried to teach them their abc's but it hadn't worked. There was just too much that was far more exciting than letters etched into the sand. Edward had asked me after why I had wanted to, as they would never need it here. We hadn't seen a single written word since our original clothes had disintegrated after only a few weeks here, and our cell phones had all been chucked into the sea as a ritual goodbye to the modern world not long after. They didn't work, and we didn't need them so they had gone.

Breakfast was a noisy, messy affair. EJ insisted on having some of my fish, which meant that Billy wanted some too, and Charlie got upset when she accidently smushed a mango into her new top and stained it, because we all knew from experience that mango stain would not come out, no matter how hard you scrubbed. But I loved it all the same. It was the picture of domestic bliss, or should that be chaos? Granted, it was on a sandy white beach with blue sea and sky instead of a family kitchen, but for me it was the epitome of what I'd wanted for my future, regardless of where I was.

After breakfast we all went our separate ways. Edward took me back to our cabin for some mandatory bedrest, even though I didn't think I needed it.

"Of course you need it Bella. You're eight months pregnant, and we don't have proper medical care here. I'm not taking any precautions."

"For Pete's sake, Edward, this is my third child here. I think I know what I'm doing."

"Be that as it may, I don't want to take a risk. Whether it is an Elizabeth or and Anthony, I want our child to be as healthy as possible, and you too. So you will stay in bed."

"Ugh, fine, but I don't like it!" I told him grumpily.

His eyes softened, "I know you don't, Bella, but I will be back soon. I just need to check the traps, and the wood stock is getting a little low for my liking. Then I will return and entertain you, OK?"

"OK." I said softly, but I knew that he wouldn't be back for ages. The traps were spread all over the island, ready to catch anything that passed through them, and I could tell that he wanted to see them all.

"And if you're good, I'll take you to our meadow later, alright?"

"OK," I said again, smiling up at him, "See you soon."

He pecked me on the lips, "I love you."

"I love you too, Tarzan." Edward beat his chest a couple of times, then picked up his handmade bow and quiver of arrows, in case we had caught some big game. A month into our new lifestyle, we had discovered that the island was also populated by wild boar, though they were very shy of humans, which was why they hadn't been found immediately. But the traps required for them were large, and needed a couple of days work, and they didn't necessarily kill them, hence the requirement for protection.

"Eddie!" Emmett boomed from outside, "Hurry up already or there won't be any killing today!" Emmett had totally embraced this way of life, and even enjoyed the bloodshed, almost as much as Rose did.

"And why won't that be?" Edward asked coolly, as I breathed an internal sigh of relief that Emmett would go along with him. Two people travelling together was always safer.

"Because they will have already died of boredom!" he cried, before bursting into hearty chuckles.

I laughed along with him, and as they walked away, I let my mind wander to back when we got married, nearly seven and a half years ago.

"_Bella, you look so gorgeous!" Alice squealed, as she adjusted the wreath of vines that substituted as a tiara. "I'm so glad you stayed with us last night! Edward won't know what's hit him!"She continued._

_She was right. I had managed to curl my hair in the old fashioned way; by tying strips of cloth into it. Alice had used the last dregs of her make-up that she had rescued from the boat. She hadn't worn it for years, except for her own wedding day, but that was the point. It was for special occasions, such as today._

"_Are you ready to go?" Rose asked, standing next to me with her bunch of forest flowers._

_I took a deep breath."I think so. There's only one way of knowing. Let's go!"_

_I stepped outside the cabin and saw Jacob, looking, well, like Jacob. As great as Alice's skills were at making the strangest of items work as clothing, she hadn't quite managed to sort out how to make a tux yet, so he was wearing a normal pair of shorts, as usual._

"_Hey Bells, you know; you don't have to do this."_

"_Shut up," I said playfully, elbowing him in the ribs._

"_Seriously though. No is forcing you into this."_

"_Jacob Ephriam Black, if you don't stop trying to dissuade me, I will walk down that aisle by myself."_

_Jake laughed, "Uh-huh? Good luck with that when Eddie throws a tantrum for you not being traditional."_

"_It's Edward," I corrected him automatically, "And I will kick him if he goes on any more about this wedding being traditional. There is very little traditional about it. Emmett doesn't know the true vows and Edward is wearing a pair of shorts, while I'm garbed in grass and coconuts. Nothing white, old, new, borrowed or blue!"_

"_Woah, calm down Bells. And really? Garbed? What century do you live in?"_

_I rolled my eyes at him, "Just get me to the beach, twerp."_

_Jacob laughed once last time, then aided my useless uncoordinated butt to the beach. As I stepped onto the smooth white sand, I saw my husband-to-be standing by the fire pit. He looked gorgeous; if possible he was more beautiful than the day that I had first seen him._

_All I saw as I walked towards him was his face. Nothing else mattered to me. I was barely aware of Jake's arm guiding me, nor the strident cries of month-old Cora crying for her Mommy. The only thing that had my attention was Edward's piercing green eyes._

_After what seemed an age, I finally reached him._

"_You look more beautiful than ever my love," he murmured._

"_As do you," I replied in a breathy whisper, and he leaned down to give me a soft kiss._

"_Hey!" Emmett objected, "None of that yet. You have to wait until I say 'You may now kiss the bride'. Jeez."_

"_Sorry minister," I replied with a soft smile, thinking that it might have been a better idea to make Mike the minister again, as he had been for Emmett's and Rosalie's wedding. Edward however had insisted, asking Jake to be his best man instead._

"_Well, you should know better."_

"_Just get on with it," Edward said, slightly exasperated. I knew why; I was impatient too._

"_Fine! OK, er, repeat after me Eddie. I, Eddie Ant Masen Cullen-dawg-"_

"_I, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen-"_

"_Take this fuck-hot bitch, Bells Marie Swan-dawg-"_

"_Take Isabella Marie Swan-"_

"_To be my wifey dearest-"_

"_To be my lawful wedded wife-"_

"_Forever and ever amen, no matter what shit happens."_

"_Forever and ever amen, no matter what shit happens." I caught Edward's eye at that point and noticed his now familiar wicked glint. It worked; Emmett's mouth dropped open in surprise that Edward had actually copied what he'd said, and I couldn't help but laughed._

_We went through the same rigmarole for my vows, then Alice made a short speech about how we should be accepting of each other and our flaws and not to go to bed angry, before._

"_I now pronounce you trousered and bitch! Now you can snog baby Bells face off bro."_

"_Trousered and bitch Emmett?" Rose asked sardonically. _

"_You're right," Emmett replied seriously, "Bella wears the trousers, so technically, it should be pansy and scary Bella..."_

"_I give up." Rose sighed, and before I knew what else was going on, Edward's lips crashed into mine, and I was lost in him. Eventually we had to pull apart, at which everyone converged on us to congratulate us. Laughing we made our way slowly over to the camp fire and Tanya, hurriedly brushing the tears from her eyes, began to cook. As I was technically island cook, she had accepted the role of 'sous-chef', but had offered to do it for the day, so I could spend a little more time with Edward._

"_I love you, Mrs Cullen," he told me, smiling at my new name as we stood a few feet away from the group, who were now giving us a 'moment'._

"_I love you too, Mr Cullen," I replied, and he kissed me again, "I'm so glad we finally made it official."_

"_Words cannot describe my ecstasy at making you my wife." He responded._

"_Hopefully you will be able to show me tonight..." I suggested, thinking of the custom made hut on the other side of the island that we would occupy for a week as our 'honeymoon'._

"_Mmm, I can't wait."_

"_Me neither."_

_I got lost in his kisses again until we were told that our meal was ready. Easy banter was bandied about until, near the end, Jake stood up._

"_I know that as the best man, I'm technically supposed to talk about the groom, but we all know that actually, I was best man because of Bella. Forgive me if I don't remember this in particular, but I'm told that when I was born and Bella came to visit her new cousin in hospital, she told Dad 'Uncle Billy, he's really funny looking. His face is all scrunched up, like he's just eaten some dirt or something. I like him.' Of course, she got to compare this face to the one I made when she dared me to eat dirt a couple of years later. Apparently it was exactly the same._

"_But I didn't tell you this just so you could laugh at my gullibility; I told you it because it sums up mine and Bella's relationship. We insult each other, but underneath, Bella has always been the kindest, most supportive and most generous cousin I could ever have. Not to mention her puppy eyes can make me do whatever she wants, with just one look. Edward, look out for those and try to ignore them, no matter how difficult it is._

"_But seriously, I couldn't ask for a better cousin, and I know that she will be just as amazing as a wife. I mean, I know this so well that I considered marrying her for a bit, until I met Nessie! Edward, I believe that you are one very lucky man, and I'm ecstatic that you have chosen my Bells. You make her happy, and that is all I could want for her. Of course it helps that you have money too!_

"_But truly, you have my blessing, and I hope you have many happy years together. To Bella and Edward!"_

_Everyone lifted their coconuts at this and repeated it._

_Alice's speech was just as funny and informative about Edward's beginnings, as she claimed that she knew Edward would marry on this very day. It too ended poignantly too. My happiness was complete, or so I thought._

_After I'd assured Jake that his speech had been perfect, and that I'd cried through it because I was so happy, it was time for us to leave. The walk wasn't short, and we wanted to get there before dark, so we set off mid-afternoon, with a small sign strapped to Edward's back, inscribed with the words 'Just Married'._

_This was where Edward really made me the happiest woman ever, until the morning sun peeped over the horizon._

I must have fallen asleep while daydreaming, as I was woken by a small hand shaking my arm vigorously.

"Momma! Momma!" I opened my eyes to see both my little miracles looking at me with wonder and excitement and a little fear in their eyes.

"What?" I asked, immediately worried. That they'd abandoned the beach was something to be worried about; they never left except to go to bed.

"Aunty Alice sent us. She said to get you to come to the beach. She said to tell you there was a..." Ej trailed off, searching for the word.

"Boat!" Charlie supplied.

"What?" I sat up, ignoring the complaint of my back.

"Yeah, an' it's coming to us." Charlie added, "Don't fink I like it Momma!"

"OK, sweetie, can you help me to the beach?" I asked, and she nodded solemnly, "EJ can you go and find Daddy and Uncle Em? They're looking at the boar traps."

"'Kay!" he cried and ran off.

"Come on then Charlie, let's go to the beach." I heaved myself off the bed, and we headed as swiftly as possible to the beach. Charlie was an angel; pushing branches out of the way, heaving my over falling logs and generally doing as much as we were able.

When we got there, I saw Alice standing with her girls, while Jasper was in the shallows with Jake, while Nessie stood with Billy. All were gazing at the boat which was indeed coming towards us. It was getting quite close.

"D'you know why or how they came here?" I asked Alice, having picked Charlie up, comforting Amanda, who told me that Rose had gone to look for Emmett with CJ.

"No. I want to know though. We've had so few boats come this way, and none of them have ever stopped here. The wood is quite wet though; they may have seen the smoke."

"Probably," I agreed, and wished that Edward would get back quickly. I was nervous without him. He was my rock and I wasn't sure I could cope without him.

Luckily he arrived with Emmett, Rosalie and the boys. The men plunged immediately into the shallows to help heave the small boat that had been dispatched onto the shore.

The two men in the boat jumped out to help and soon it was high and dry. I walked over to it, flanked by EJ and Charlie. Edward gave me a quick kiss as I arrived.

"Who is this?" I asked him.

"I'm Aro and this is Marcus." One said, a pale sickly looking man with jet black hair tied back said, indicating the other as he said his name. Marcus looked almost exactly the same, except he was swarthier and bulkier.

"You are?"

"I'm Edward Cullen. This is my wife, Bella, and children. Here is Alice and Jasper Hale, with their two, Jake and Nessie Black, and-"

"Are you Rosalie Hale?" Marcus cut in.

"Cullen now, but yes." She said curtly, trying to ignore the lusty looks he was giving her.

"So you two must be Tanya Denali and Victoria Nomad." Aro said, his face lighting up in recognition, "But where is Michael Newton?"]

"Dead," Jasper said shortly, "How do you know who we are?"

"About ten years ago, you were all over the papers. Mr Hale started a multi-million dollar search for you. Eventually, about three years ago, he finally gave up. But he was still hopeful that you were alive, or so he said in the paper. But we also know because of the flyers that continually circled among the sailors. We were told to look on every island we came to, though none of us actually thought you had survived for so long at sea. But we still learned your names and stories. Hard not to when that is all you hear about." Aro explained.

"We can rescue you now. There is enough room in this boat and plenty on the ship." Marcus offered.

We all looked at each other. Now that the day had come, we didn't know what to do. But then I thought of EJ and Charlie and the real life they were missing out on by being here. Catching Edward's eye, I saw that he was thinking the same thing.

"We'll go." We said in unison. This decided everyone else. They all quickly agreed too.

We were going home. The thought struck me as Marcus and Aro rowed back towards the ship. After ten years of living the most basic of lives we were going home; going back to what we'd grown up in.

Suddenly panic hit me. Technology had moved so fast and people changed too. Would we be able to cope in this new world we were going into? Could we re-adapt to this life?

I turned to Edward, "I don't think I can do this. The world will be too different. What if we don't fit in? I like it on the island!"

"Hush, my Bella," he soothed, "Of course it is going to be different, strange and possibly it will seem very alien to us. But what is staying the same? Us, our children, our love. That won't change, and that is what will see us through. I promise. Besides, I promised you ten years ago that we would leave the island. Maybe a little later than I thought we would, but I always keep my promises. I love you and I know we can get through this. Together."

He'd said all the right words. I calmed down, "Together." I replied.

And I knew it was true. Our love would never change, and having already overcome so much together, I knew that together we could also move onto the next chapter in our lives with our love keeping us strong, as it had for the past ten years. We could survive as we had so far. Together. That was all that counted.

Together. Bring it on.

**THE END**

* * *

**AN: That's all folks.**

**So, what I have heard so far is that people want a sequel. I can tell you now that it will be fairy short, and I *gulps* will be writing another story at the same time, as this new story has been in the works for some time. WARNING: The new story will not be ExB, it will be an imprint story, as imprinting has long intrigued me. If you still want to read my work, then I am flattered.**

**MASSIVE thanks to my beta HopingForLove, although she promised faithfully that she would beta this chapter before she went to France, then didn't! However, I still love her, and without her, my work probably wouldn't make sense. LOVE YOU!**

**Finally, I recently went to a camp, and learnt about survival techniques, and I now realise that most of this story is very unlikely, if not impossible. I apologise for this, and hope that it didn't ruin the story for those who also know how to survive.**

**Please tell me your final thoughts, they always make happy.**

**Layla x**


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